# U ni te d S ta te s Co ur t of A pp ea ls

For the Eig hth Circu it

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _

No. 1 5- 36 51

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _

Uni te d S ta te s o f Am eri ca

ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll l Pla in ti

ff - App el le e

v.

Cart ez Lam ar Co ok

ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll l Defe nd

an t - Ap pe ll an t

__ __ __ __ __ __

App eal fro m

Uni te d S ta te s Di st ric t Co ur t

fo r th e Dis tri ct of M in ne so ta - St. Pa ul

__ __ __ __ __ __

Su bm it te d: Octo be r 21 , 20 16

Fil ed : No ve m

be r 22 , 20 16

__ __ __ __ __ __

Befo re MUR PHY, GRUENDER, and SHEPHERD, Circ ui t J ud ge s.

__ __ __ __ __ __

MURP HY, Circ ui t J ud ge

.

Cart ez Lam ar Co ok was co nv ic te d by a jury of on e co un t of be in g a fel on in

po ss es si on o f a fir earm in vi ol at io n of 18 U.S.C. § 92 2( g) (1 ). The di st ric t co ur t 1

se nt en ced Co ok to 12 0 m on th s i m pr is on m en t. Co ok ap pe al s, an d we a ffi rm

.

The Hon or ab le Ann D. Mo nt go m ery, Uni te d St at es Dis tri ct Ju dg e fo r t he 1

Dis tri ct of M in ne so ta

.I.

In th e earl y m or ni ng ho ur s of Nov em be r 25

, 20 13

, po li ce of

fic ers wer e on

ro ut in e pa tro l du ty whe n th ey sp ot te d an i d l in g car in a hi gh cri m e area of so ut h

Mi nn eap ol is

. The of

fic ers co ul d no t im m ed ia te ly de te rm in e whe th er th e ve hi cl e was

oc cu pi ed

. W or rie d th at an id li ng ve hi cl e co ul d be ta ke n by an op po rtu ni st ic th ie f, th e

o f f i c e r s de ci de d to ch eck on it by ci rcl in g aro un d th e bl oc k. As th e of fi c e r s

a p p r o a c h e d th e ve hi cl e a se co nd ti m e, th ey co ul d te ll th at it was oc cu pi ed by t w o

pe op le

.

The of

fic ers de ci de d to m ak e co nt act wit h th e oc cu pa nt s o f th e id li ng car.

The y pa rk ed be hi nd it an d th en act iv a t ed th e "wi g wag " se tt in g fo r th e pa tro l car's

em erg en cy li gh ts

, whi ch pr od uc es a di st in ct i v e p a tt ern

. As th ey ap pr oa ch ed th e

id li ng car, ap pe ll an t Co ok ro ll ed do wn th e win do w ne xt to t h e dr iv er se at

. The

of fic ers were a b l e t o s mel l m ari juan a an d de ci de d to ta ke Co ok in to cu st od y , s o he

was rem ov ed fro m th e ve hi cl e an d ha nd cu ffed

. W hi le th e of fic ers at te nd ed to an ot he r

pa ss en ge r, Co ok fle d. He was ap pr eh en de d s ev eral bl oc ks away an d a rres te d.

W he n of fic ers lo ok ed in th e ve hi cl e Co ok ha d be en in at th ei r fir st co nt act

, th ey

sa w m ari juan a an d crac k co cai ne in th e ba ck se at

. The y t o w e d a n d im po un de d th e

car th at ni gh t. Su bs eq ue nt ly th e of fic ers ob ta in ed a warra nt

, se arch ed th e ve hi cl e, an d

un co v e r e d a fir earm hi dd en in th e ve hi cl e's cen te r co ns ol e. Ana lysis rev eal ed th at

DNA on th at gu n was co ns is te nt wit h Co ok 's DNA, bu t no t t h at of 99 .6% of th e

ge ne ral po pu la ti on in cl ud in g th e ot h e r pa ss en ge r. Bal li st ic s te st in g al so co nn ect ed

th e gu n to th e de at h of Derek Hol t, a m an ki ll ed th ree days be fo re Co ok 's en co un te r

wit h th e po li ce. At th e ti m e of Co ok 's arre st

, he ha d al read y be en id en ti fie d by po li ce

as a pe rs on of i nt eres t i n Ho lt 's d eat h.

-2

-Co ok was in di ct ed on on e co un t of be in g a fel on in po ss es si on of a fir earm in

vi ol a t i o n o f 1 8 U.S.C. § 92 2( g) (1 ). Co ok was co nv ic te d fo ll owi ng a jury tri al an d

se nt en ced by the di st ric t co ur t t o 1 20 m on th s i m pr is on m en t. Co ok ap pe al s.

II.

Co ok arg ue s th at th e di st ric t co ur t erre d by de nyin g hi s p r e t ria l m ot io n to 2

su pp res s th e fir earm as th e fru it of an il le ga l sei zu re. W he n rev ie win g th e de ni al of

a su pp res si on m ot io n, a di st ric t co ur t's fin di ng s of fact are ex am in ed fo r cl ear erro r

an d i ts co nc lu si on s o f la w are re vi ewed de no vo . Uni te d S ta te s v . Cas te ll an os , 60 8

F.3 d 1 01 0, 1 01 5 (8 th Cir . 2 01 0)

. Si nc e th ere is no di sp ut e ab ou t th e rel ev an t fa ct s,

we gi ve de no vo co ns id erat io n to C o o k 's arg um en ts reg ard in g th e co ns ti tu ti on al it y

of th e o ffi cers ' act io ns

.

It is well se tt le d th at no t al l in te ract io ns be twee n la w en fo rcem en t of fic ers an d

ci ti zen s am ou nt to se iz ur es un de r th e Fo ur th Am en dm en t. See Uni te d St at es v. Barr y

,

39 4 F.3 d 10 70 , 1 07 4 (8 th Ci r. 20 05 ). Even wit ho ut a ba si s fo r su sp ect in g a pe rs on

of co m m it ti ng a cri m e, of

fic ers m ay "g en eral ly as k qu es ti on s of th at in di vi du al " an d

"as k to ex am in e th e in di vi du al 's id en ti fic at io n," so lo ng as "t he po li ce do no t co nv ey

a m es sa ge th at co m

pl ia nc e wit h t he ir r eq ue st s i s re qu ire d." Fl or id a v. Bo st ic k, 50 1

U.S. 42 9, 43 4– 35 (1 99 1)

. F o r an of fic er's be ha vi or to ris e to th e le ve l of a Fo ur th

Am en dm en t se iz ur e, th e of fic er m us t us e "p hysic al fo rce or [a] sh ow of au th or it y " to

res tra in a ci ti zen 's li be rty. See Terry v. Ohi o, 39 2 U.S. 1, 19 n.1 6 (1 96 8)

. The cru ci al

qu es ti on is whet he r an off ic er's act io ns wou ld "h av e co m m un ic at ed to a reas on ab le

pe rs on th at he was no t at li be rty to ig no re th e po li ce p r e se nc e an d go ab ou t hi s

The Hon or ab le Je ffre y J. K e ye s

, U ni te d St at es Mag is tra te Ju dg e fo r th e 2

Dis tri ct of Mi nn es ot a, pr ep ared a rep o r t a n d reco m m en da ti on on Co ok 's m ot io n to

su pp res s wh ic h was su bs eq ue nt ly ado pt ed by Jud ge Mo nt go m ery.

-3

-bu si ne ss ." Bo st ic k, 50 1 U.S. at 43 7 (q uo ti ng Mi ch ig an v. Ch es te rn ut

, 48 6 U.S. 56 7,

56 9 (1 98 8) ).

In Uni te d St at es v. Barr y , we he ld th at a po li ce of f i c e r ap pr oa ch in g a pa rk ed

car do es no t nece ss ari ly effe ct a se iz ur e fo r Fo ur th Am en dm en t pu rp os es

. 39 4 F.3 d

a t 10 75

. In Barr y , a n of

fic er on pa tro l la te at ni gh t no ti ced a car pa rk ed i n a n a l l e y

be hi nd a sh op pi ng m al l. Id . at 1 07 2. Th e o ffi cer dec id ed to in ve st ig at e an d par ke d

h i s ve hi cl e in fro nt of th e car. Id

. The of fic er th en ap pr oa ch ed th e v e h i c l e w h i l e

sh in in g hi s fla sh li gh t o n h i s u ni fo rm an d ke ep in g a ha nd on hi s ho ls te red gu n. Id

.

The of fic er kn oc ke d on th e pa ss en ge r s i de win do w twi ce wit ho ut rece iv in g a

res po ns e, bu t on th e th ird kn oc k a pe rs on in si de th e car ro ll ed th e win do w do wn. Id

.

The of fic er sm el le d m ari

juan a in si de th e car, whi ch he de te rm in ed was ad eq ua te

gr ou nd s t o d et ai n t he car's oc cu pa nt s. Id

.

W e co nc lu de d in Barr y th at th e oc cu pa nt s of th e v eh ic le ha d n ot be en se iz ed

un ti l th ey were as ke d to ex it th ei r ve hi cl e. See i d

. at 10 75

. Mo re sp eci fic al ly, we

de te rm in ed th at th e of

fic er's act io ns in ap pr oa ch in g th e pa rk ed car, sh in in g a li gh t on

hi s un ifo rm

, ke ep in g a ha nd on hi s ho ls te red gu n, an d kn oc ki ng on th e pa ss en ge r si de

win do w "d id no t am ou nt to a sh ow of au th or it y su ch th at a reas on ab le pe rs on wou ld

be li ev e he was no t at l i be rty to ig no re [th e of fic er's ] pr es en ce an d go ab ou t hi s

bu si ne ss ." Id

.

Th e f a c t s in th e pr es en t cas e are no t m ean in gf ul ly di ffer en t fro m th e fact s in

Barr y

, a n d f

or su bs ta nt ia ll y th e sa m e reas on s we co nc lu de th ere was no Fo ur th

Am en dm en t s ei zu re h ere u nt il th e o ffi cers rem ov ed Co ok fro m th e id li ng car. Thi s

se iz ur e pe rm is si bl y cam e aft er th e of fic ers ha d de te ct ed th e od or of m ari juan a co m in g

fro m Co ok 's vo lu nt ari ly op en ed win do w. As in Barr y

, ou r co nc lu si on th at th ere was

no se iz ur e be fo re tha t po in t is in fo rm ed by th e fact th at (1 ) th e car Coo k was in was

pa rk ed whe n th e of

fic ers de ci de d to in ve st ig at e, (2 ) th e in te ract io n be twee n Co ok an d

-4

-th e of

fic ers to ok pl ace la te at ni gh t in a hi gh cri m e area

, an d (3 ) th ere is no in di cat io n

th e of fic ers or de red Co ok to ro ll do wn hi s win do w or en ga ge wit h th em in an y way

.

W e al so no te th at th e wig wag li gh ts act iv at ed by th e of fic ers are di ffer en t fro m

th e fu ll li gh t ba r whi ch is us ed to no t i f y mo t o r i s ts in m ov in g ve hi cl es th at th ey are

req ui red to st op

. See Uni te d St at es v. Doc kt er, 58 F.3 d 12 84 , 1 28 7 (8 th Ci r. 19 95 )

(n o se iz ur e whe re po li ce of fic er pu ll ed be hi nd a pa rk ed car an d "ac ti va te d hi s am be r

w a r n in g li gh ts "); cf. Barr y

, 39 4 F.3 d at 10 75 (s ug ge st in g th at act iv at io n of f u l l

"em erg en cy li gh ts " cou ld be a sh ow of aut ho rit y su ffi ci en t to be a se iz ur e un de r th e

Fo ur th Am en dm en t). Here, of fic ers act iv at ed th e wig wag li gh ts in or de r to id en ti fy

th em se lv es as po li ce fo r th e sa fet y of al l pa rti es in vo lv ed

. A reas on ab le pe rs on se ei ng

th e wig wag li gh ts un de r th es e ci rcu m st an ces wou ld ha ve th ou gh t th at he was st il l "at

li be rty t o ig no re th e po li ce pr es en ce an d go ab ou t hi s bu si ne ss ." Bo st ic k, 50 1 U.S.

at 43 7 (c it at io n o m it te d)

.

Si nc e Co ok was no t un la wfu ll y se iz ed

, th e di st ric t co ur t di d no t err in de nyin g

Co ok 's m ot io n t o s up pr es s.

III.

Co ok al so arg ue s th at th e di st ric t co ur t erre d by ad m it ti ng ci rcu m st a n t i al

ev id en ce t ha t co nn ect ed hi m to th e sh oo ti ng de at h o f Derek Hol t. A di st ric t co ur t's

ev id en ti ary ru li ng s are rev ie wed fo r ab us e of di sc ret io n. Uni te d St at es v. Bat tl e, 77 4

F.3 d 5 04 , 51 1 (8 th Cir . 20 14 ).

The di st ric t co ur t pe rm it te d th e go ve rn m en t to i n t r od uc e ci rcu m st an ti al

ev id en ce th at ti ed Co ok to th e d e a t h of Derek Hol t th ree da y s be fo re Co ok 's arre st

.

The go ve rn m en t's ev id en ce in cl ud ed : (1 ) a wit ne ss who id en ti fie d th e gu n Co ok was

ch arg ed wit h po ss es si ng as be lo ng in g to Hol t; (2 ) cel l ph on e reco rd s th at in di cat ed

Co ok ha d tra ve le d to th e area in whi ch Hol t l iv ed an d c al le d h im sh or tl y be fo re hi s

-5

-de at h; (3 ) ev id en ce th at Hol t's pa nt s po ck et h a d b e e n tu rn ed ou t an d $8 0 he ha d

po ss es se d th e ni gh t befo re was m is si ng ; an d (4 ) ev id en ce tha t DNA co ns is te nt wit h

Co ok 's was fo un d in Hol t's pa nt s p o c k e t

. In su m

, th e go ve rn m en t's ci rcu m st an ti al

ev id en ce was in te nd ed to pa in t a p ic tu re o f Hol t's de at h in whi ch Co ok m et up wit h

H o l t

, s ho t hi m wit h hi s own gu n, rif le d th ro ug h hi s po ck et s, an d th en fle d

. Th e

go ve rn m en t reas on ed th at it s ab i l i t y t o pr es en t th is th eo ry of Hol t's de at h was

es se nt ia l to es ta bl is h ho w Co ok ha d co m e to p o s s e s s th e gu n fo un d hi dd en in th e

ve hi cl e in whi ch he was ri di ng pri or to hi s ar res t.

Co ok arg ue s th at ev id en ce of hi s in vo lv em en t in Hol t's de at h sh ou ld ha ve be en

ex cl ud ed by th e di st ric t co ur t. We d i s a g ree. Evi de nc e of ot he r cri m es th at "t en ds

lo gi cal ly to pr ov e an y el em en t of th e cri m e ch arg ed " is "ad m is si bl e as an in te gr al pa rt

of t h e i mm e d ia te co nt ex t of th e cri m e ch arg ed " an d is th eref or e "n ot go ve rn ed by

Ru le 40 4( b) ." Bat tl e, 77 4 F.3 d at 51 1 (q uo ti ng Uni te d St at es v. Bas s, 79 4 F.2 d 13 05

,

13 12 (8 th Ci r. 19 86 )). Co ok was ch arg ed wit h be in g a fel on in po ss es si on of a

fir earm in vi ol at io n o f 18 U.S.C. § 92 2( g) (1 ). An es se nt ia l el em en t o f th at cri m e is

kn owi ng po ss es si on of a fir earm

. See Bat tl e, 77 4 F.3 d at 51 1. Evi de nc e th at te nd ed

to sh o w t h at Co ok ha d us ed th e gu n to sh oo t Hol t jus t th ree da y s earl ie r wou ld

th eref or e be ad m is si bl e an d "h ig hl y pr ob at iv e of th e de fen da nt 's po ss es s i o n o f th at

weap on ." Id

.

Co ok arg ue s th at hi s cas e is di st in gu is ha bl e fro m ot he r cas es in whi ch we ha ve

fo un d ev id en ce of pr io r gu n po ss es si on ad m is si bl e, se e, e.g

., Bat tl e, 77 4 F.3 d at 51 1,

be cau se th ere was no di rect ev id en ce he sh ot Hol t wit h th e gu n he was ch arg ed wit h

po ss es si ng

. W e do no t fin d th is di st i n ct io n pe rs ua si ve

. Ci rcu m st an ti al ev id en ce is

"i nt rin si cal ly as pr ob at iv e as di rect ev id en ce." Uni te d St at es v. Tsch ach er, 68 7 F.3 d

92 3, 93 4 (8 th Ci r. 20 12 ) (q uo ti ng Uni te d St at es v. Bro wn, 63 4 F.3 d 43 5, 43 9 (8 th Ci r.

20 11 )). Evi de nc e th at Co ok sh ot Hol t wit h hi s own gu n is th eref or e no t in ad m is si bl e

so le ly be cau se th at ev id en ce d id no t t ak e th e fo rm of t es ti m on y

fro m an ey ewit ne ss

who sa w Co ok sh oo t Hol t. Mo reo ve r, th ere is a st ro ng t e mpo ral an d lo gi cal

-6

-co nn ect io n be twee n th e ev id en ce th e go ve rn m en t in tro du ced of Co ok 's po ss ib le

in vo lv em en t in Hol t's de at h an d it s arg um en t th at Co ok kn owi ng ly po ss es se d th e gu n

fo un d hi dd en in a car he oc cu pi ed jus t th ree da y s la te r. Fi na ll y

, bo th th e go ve rn m en t

an d th e co ur t rep eat ed ly to ld th e jury th at Co ok was no t on tri al fo r Hol t's de a th

,

whi ch m it ig at ed an y ris k of un fai r pr ejud ic e fro m ad m it ti ng th e ev id en ce. See Bat tl e,

77 4 F.3 d at 51 2. The di st ric t co ur t th eref or e di d no t ab us e it s di sc ret io n by ad m it ti ng

th e ev id en ce Co ok ch al le ng es

.

IV.

Acco rd in gl y , we affi rm

th e jud gm en t o f th e d is tri ct co ur t.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

-7

-