Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/348/591/254281/
Timestamp: 2020-08-10 06:00:19
Document Index: 231204210

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2312', '§ 1291', '§ 40302', '§ 12500', '§ 12951', '§ 12504', '§ 834', '§ 12951']

Dennis Paul Lipton, Appellant, v. United States of America, Appellee, 348 F.2d 591 (9th Cir. 1965) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Ninth Circuit › 1965 › Dennis Paul Lipton, Appellant, v. United States of America, Appellee
Dennis Paul Lipton, Appellant, v. United States of America, Appellee, 348 F.2d 591 (9th Cir. 1965)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - 348 F.2d 591 (9th Cir. 1965) July 27, 1965
Manuel L. Real, U.S. Atty., John K. Van de Kamp, Asst. U.S. Atty., Chief, Crim. Sec., Donald C. Smaltz, Asst. U. S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., for appellee.
In the Trial Court, the appellant upon his request was assigned counsel by the Court, was arraigned and pleaded not guilty, and through his counsel moved to suppress the evidence discovered by a city motorcycle patrolman respecting appellant's possible violations at Bakersfield of California's vehicular traffic laws, and leading to appellant's arrests, first, for driving without a driver's license, and second, for driving a stolen motor vehicle and finally to the charge in said indictment of his Dyer Act violation. The motion to suppress was denied by the Trial Court which set the case for jury trial, a jury trial was had, but a mistrial was ordered because the jury was unable to agree upon its verdict. Thereupon, the appellant waived jury trial and consented to trial before the Court without a jury, and at such non-jury trial the Court found the appellant guilty as charged, and initially imposed against him a twoyear sentence, but later reduced it to one year, ten months and fifteen days.
The Trial Court under 18 U.S.C.A. § 2312 (the Dyer Act) had, and this Court under 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1291 and 1294 has, jurisdiction.
Officer Snow asked to see appellant's driver's license, but the latter was unable to produce a driver's license or any other identification, and told the officer that he had left the license at his home. The officer then arrested the appellant for not having a driver's license or other evidence of his identity, as required by the California Vehicle Code § 40302(a). Snow then inquired of the appellant concerning his ownership and registration of the Chevrolet. Appellant told the officer he had purchased the car from his aunt, Helen Dynia, in Phoenix for $200, and produced a registration certificate in her name and said his own name was David Minsky. Upon further questioning concerning his aunt, the appellant became evasive, and did not know her street address or in what section of Phoenix she resided.
In view of the foregoing officer Snow became suspicious, and via his motorcycle radio called the Bakersfield police desk sergeant and requested information as to whether the Chevrolet was a stolen vehicle. While that radio communication was occurring, appellant said he might have some identification, went around to the other side of the car "as if to get into the glove compartment," but instead of stopping there he then broke and ran, the officer pursued him on foot for about two blocks, overtook the appellant and returned with him to the officer's motorcycle. Then officer Snow, in response to his radio inquiry, was informed that the Chevrolet had been reported stolen by the Arizona highway patrol. Thereupon, appellant was arrested again, this time for driving a stolen vehicle, and was turned over to a detective of the Bakersfield police department for further investigation and transportation to that department.
No acts of Congress governing the conduct of inspecting and arresting officers in cases relating to traffic control on the public highways have been cited or brought to our attention, and we are not advised of any. In United States v. Di Re, 332 U.S. 581, 589, 68 S. Ct. 222, 226, 92 L. Ed. 210, 217, the Supreme Court held:
"* * * that in absence of an applicable federal statute the law of the state where an arrest without warrant takes place determines its validity."
Likewise in Burks v. United States, 9 Cir., 1961, 287 F.2d 117, cert. denied 369 U.S. 841, 82 S. Ct. 868, 7 L. Ed. 2d 846, this court at page 122 held:
"State law determines the validity of arrests without warrants, subject to such minimum standards as the Supreme Court may rule are required by constitutional standards. * * (citations omitted). Thus it is not relevant that appellant was finally indicted for a federal offense; if his arrest was valid under state law, the subsequent search and seizure was valid and the evidence so obtained admissible in the federal prosecution."
California Vehicle Code, Section 12500 (a) provides:
"(a) No person shall drive a motor vehicle upon a highway unless he then holds a driver's license issued under this code, except such persons as are expressly exempted under this code."
"The licensee shall have the license issued to him in his possession at all times when driving a motor vehicle upon a highway and when driving shall display the same upon demand of a peace officer enforcing the provisions of this code."
As above noted, California is an automobile-license state which prohibits the driving of a motor vehicle on a highway unless the driver "then holds a driver's license issued under this code" (§ 12500 (a), supra). The California law (§ 12951, supra) further requires the driver license while driving on a highway to have in his possession and to display his driver's license "upon demand of a peace officer enforcing the provisions of the code," and that law applies to non-resident minors (§ 12504, supra) and provides that they may upon certain conditions use valid licenses issued to them by other states. The necessary implication of those code provisions is that a peace officer in the proper discharge of his duty has the right to stop a driver and make such demand.
Since appellant's car was subject to the licensing provisions of the California Vehicle Code, it was lawful for the officer to stop the car to investigate the driver's possession of a license to drive the car on the California highway in question. No other way was available to the officer to determine whether appellant possessed the required license. The momentary detention of appellant for this limited purpose was not an arrest of appellant since under the California law arrest is defined as "taking a person into custody." Busby v. United States, 9 Cir., 1961, 296 F.2d 328, 331 (citing and quoting from Cal.Penal Code § 834). If stopping appellant for the sole purpose of inquiring whether he held a license for the activity in which he was engaged was in any sense a "seizure" it was not an "unreasonable" one, and did not violate any right given appellant by the Fourth Amendment, made applicable to the State by the Fourteenth. Cf. Rios v. United States, 364 U.S. 253, 262, 80 S. Ct. 1431, 4 L. Ed. 2d 1688 (1960). A contrary holding would render unenforceable the State statute requiring that automobile drivers be licensed.
When appellant was unable to produce the driver's license in response to officer Snow's demand, then the officer had probable cause to arrest the appellant, as he did, for violation of § 12951 of the California Vehicle Code. Upon learning via radio from his headquarters that the car was a stolen car in the possession of appellant, the officer then had probable cause for arresting appellant, as was done, on the further charge of driving a stolen vehicle.