Case Name: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Scott WHEATON, Defendant-Appellant
Court: Idaho Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Idaho
Decision Date: 1992-01-30
Citations: 121 Idaho 404
Docket Number: No. 19301
Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Scott WHEATON, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: BAKES, C.J., and JOHNSON and BOYLE, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Idaho Reports
Volume: 121
Pages: 404–409

Head Matter:
825 P.2d 501
STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Scott WHEATON, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 19301.
Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, December 1991 Term.
Jan. 30, 1992.
Ringert & Clark, Boise, for defendant-appellant. David Hammerquist (argued).
Larry J. EchoHawk, Atty. Gen., Myrna A.I. Stahman, Deputy Atty. Gen. (argued), Boise, for plaintiff-respondent.

Opinion:
McDEVITT, Justice.
The defendant appeals from an Idaho Criminal Rule 11 conditional plea of guilty to possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in violation of I.C. § 37-2732. The defendant was arrested for failure to maintain insurance, in violation of I.C. § 49-1229. A subsequent search of his automobile uncovered cocaine and other drug paraphernalia. The defendant sought to suppress the evidence seized, contending that the search of his vehicle was an unconstitutional search and seizure. The trial court denied the suppression motion. This Court affirms.
On February 17, 1990, Boise Police Officer, David Graves, stopped the defendant's vehicle for traveling in excess of the speed limit. When Officer Graves approached the defendant's vehicle, the defendant handed Officer Graves his drivers license and the vehicle registration. When Officer Graves asked for the defendant's proof of liability insurance, the defendant stated that he did not have insurance. After further questioning, the defendant admitted that he had never had insurance on the car and that he did not intend to purchase insurance on the car. Officer Graves then returned to his patrol car and requested the assistance of another patrol officer. After the second police officer, Sergeant Webb, had arrived on the scene, Officer Graves returned to the defendant's automobile and requested that the defendant get out of the automobile. Officer Graves "patted down" the defendant to check for weapons and placed the defendant under arrest for failure to maintain insurance.
After the defendant had been arrested, handcuffed, and placed in the patrol car, Officer Graves searched the passenger compartment of the defendant's car and discovered a black plastic rectangular box that contained a small set of hand held scales of the type commonly used in drug transactions, ten individually wrapped bindles and two plastic baggies. The bindles and the baggies contained a white powdery substance that appeared to be cocaine. A further search of the defendant's person discovered $395.00 in cash and a ledger-type sheet indicating a series of sales transactions.
The defendant was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in addition to the charge of failure to maintain insurance. The defendant moved to suppress the evidence seized by Officer Graves. The district court denied the motion to suppress. Pursuant to I.C.R. 11(a)(2), the defendant entered a conditional plea of guilty to the charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, reserving his right to appeal the denial of his suppression motion. Pursuant to the conditional plea, the State dismissed the charge of failure to maintain insurance.
On appeal, the defendant contends: (1) that the search of his automobile was unconstitutional; and, (2) that this Court should interpret Idaho Const, art. I, § 17, to provide more heightened protection to a criminal defendant than the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
I. SEARCH OF THE DEFENDANT'S AUTOMOBILE WAS CONSTITUTIONAL
The defendant does not contest the validity of the initial stop by Officer Graves or his authority to arrest the defendant for failure to maintain insurance. The State asserts that the search of the defendant's car was a valid search incident to arrest as authorized by New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454, 101 S.Ct. 2860, 69 L.Ed.2d 768 (1981). The defendant asserts that Belton does not give a police officer unbridled discretion to conduct a search of an automobile after arresting an occupant of that automobile, but that the police officer must still have a reasonable belief or other justifiable reason to search for a weapon or evidence of the crime for which the individual is arrested.
The defendant misreads the Belton decision. The Belton Court stated:
Accordingly, we hold that when a policeman has made a lawful custodial arrest of the occupant of an automobile, he may, as a contemporaneous incident of that arrest, search the passenger compartment of that automobile.
It follows from this conclusion that the police may also examine the contents of any containers found within the passenger compartment, for if the passenger compartment is within reach of the arrestee, so also will containers in it be within his reach.
Id., 453 U.S. at 460, 101 S.Ct. at 2864 (citations and footnotes omitted).
In part, Belton relied upon United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 94 S.Ct. 467, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973), and applied it to those situations involving the arrest of an occupant of an automobile. The Belton opinion explained:
"The authority to search the person incident to a lawful custodial arrest, while based upon the need to disarm and to discover evidence, does not depend on what a court may later decide was the probability in a particular arrest situation that weapons or evidence would in fact be found upon the person of the suspect. A custodial arrest of a suspect based on probable cause is a reasonable intrusion under the Fourth Amendment; that intrusion being lawful, a search incident to the arrest requires no additional justification." (Emphasis added.)
Id., 453 U.S. at 461, 101 S.Ct. at 2864, quoting from United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 235, 94 S.Ct. 467, 476, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973).
The effect of Belton was to apply the rule of Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969), which authorized police officers to search the area within the "immediate control" of the arrestee. Id., 395 U.S. at 763, 89 S.Ct. at 2040. Chimel recognized that a valid arrest supported a search of the area within the "immediate control" of the arrestee for evidence and weapons without further justification. Belton applied the Chimel rule to automobile cases and defined the area within the "immediate control" of the arrestee as the passenger compartment of the automobile.
We have recognized the authority of police officers to search the passenger compartment of an automobile incident to the arrest of an occupant. This Court first applied the Belton rule in State v. Calegar, 104 Idaho 526, 661 P.2d 311 (1983). In State v. Smith, 120 Idaho 77, 813 P.2d 888 (1991), we stated that, pursuant to Belton, the police officers involved were "justified in searching the interior of the automobile, including any containers, as soon as the defendant was placed under arrest." Id., 120 Idaho at 80, 813 P.2d at 891. Once having made a lawful custodial arrest of an occupant of an automobile, there is no need for further justification in order to search the passenger compartment of an automobile. In this case, the defendant does not contest the fact that Officer Graves made a lawful custodial arrest after which he searched the defendant's car. Therefore, we affirm the trial court's denial of the defendant's motion to suppress.
II. THE STATE CONSTITUTIONAL THEORY WAS NOT PRESERVED FOR REVIEW
The defendant urges this Court to construe Idaho Const, art. I, § 17, to provide more protection than afforded by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The defendant argues that the subsequent search must be causally related to the arrest. The defendant would have us adopt a rule that would require a belief on the part of the police officer conducting the search that the automobile contains either evidence for which the defendant was arrested or weapons.
In his motion to suppress, the defendant alleged that his "federal and state civil rights were violated" as required by "the federal and state constitutions and by state law." The defendant failed to further clarify his state constitutional argument. We cannot find in the record any reference to an argument seeking a greater scope of protection under the Idaho Constitution. This Court will not consider issues not raised in the court below. In re Matter of Williams, 120 Idaho 473, 817 P.2d 139 (1991); State v. Martin, 118 Idaho 334, 796 P.2d 1007 (1990); State v. Kellogg, 102 Idaho 628, 636 P.2d 750 (1981); Lockard v. State, 92 Idaho 813, 451 P.2d 1014 (1969). Therefore, we will not consider the defendant's argument.
Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's denial of the defendant's motion to suppress and affirm the conviction pursuant to the I.C.R. 11(a)(2) conditional plea of guilty.
BAKES, C.J., and JOHNSON and BOYLE, JJ., concur.