Case Name: STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. William Michael YULE, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2005-06-29
Citations: 905 So. 2d 251
Docket Number: No. 2D03-4183
Parties: STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. William Michael YULE, Appellee.
Judges: ALTENBERND, C.J., and WHATLEY, J., Concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 905
Pages: 251–267

Head Matter:
STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. William Michael YULE, Appellee.
No. 2D03-4183.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
June 29, 2005.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General; Tallahassee, and Jonathan P. Hurley, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellant.
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Kevin Briggs, Assistant Public Defender, Bartow, for Appellee.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
The State appeals the trial court's order suppressing evidence which served as the basis for criminal charges against William Michael Yule. The evidence was obtained during the course of a warrantless probationary search of a residence shared by Yule and a probationer, Stacy Ellison. We reverse.
The pertinent facts are undisputed. The search of the residence shared by Yule and Ms. Ellison took place after Ms. Ellison's probation officer was advised by another probationer — a relative of Ms. Ellison who was concerned about Ms. Ellison's children — that "Ellison was dealing drugs out of her residence." Subsequently, two probation officers went to Ms. Ellison's residence. The probation officers were accompanied for safety by two sheriffs detectives. Upon arriving at Ms. Ellison's residence, they encountered her "in a car . getting ready to leave." One of the probation officers "stopped" Ms. Ellison and informed her that he "needed to search her house . [bjecause [he] had gotten word that she was dealing drugs." Ms. Ellison agreed to the search of the residence. The probation officers, accompanied by the sheriffs detectives, then entered the residence with Ms. Ellison. The probation officers went into a bedroom of the residence with Ms. Ellison, while the detectives remained in the living room where they encountered Yule and a woman. Yule and the woman were instructed by the detectives to stay put.
One of the detectives asked Yule "if he had any weapons on him." Yule responded that "he had a knife in his pocket." Yule removed the knife from his pocket. The detective told Yule to "wait a minute" and took the knife from him. The detective then asked Yule if he had any more weapons on his person. Yule said that he did not and "lifted up his shirt and turned around as to display if he had any weapons on him." When Yule lifted his shirt, the detective observed an "empty pen cartridge sticking out of the rear of his pocket." The detective further observed that the clear pen cartridge had "a white residue in it." Based on his training and experience, the detective concluded that the pen cartridge "was used to ingest methamphetamine." The detective then patted Yule down and retrieved "four other tubes and cartridges" from his pocket. Yule was arrested and read his Miranda rights. Yule then told the detective that underneath the couch there was a tinfoil "boat" — which the detective testified is commonly used to smoke methamphetamine. Yule further stated that he had smoked methamphetamine earlier that day with a straw and the tinfoil.
Yule moved to suppress the drug paraphernalia as well as his statements made to the detective. As grounds for suppression, Yule contended the physical evidence and his statements were obtained as the result of an illegal warrantless search and an illegal investigatory detention. In his motion, Yule acknowledged that the probation officers involved were conducting a warrantless search of the residence pursuant to a provision of Ms. Ellison's probation. Yule raised an objection concerning the presence of the sheriffs detectives during the search. He did not dispute the facts concerning the search to which the officers testified as set forth above.
In its order granting the motion to suppress, the trial court determined that although the warrantless search of the residence was a valid probationary search, the search was limited to a search for probation violations. The trial court concluded that evidence obtained in the search would be admissible in a probation revocation proceeding but not to prove a new criminal offense, citing Croteau v. State, 334 So.2d 577 (Fla.1976), and Grubbs v. State, 373 So.2d 905 (Fla.1979).
The trial court's reliance on Croteau and Grubbs to support a suppression of the evidence in regard to the criminal charges against Yule was misplaced. The Florida Supreme Court, in both Croteau and Grubbs, recognized that a probation officer has the authority to enter his or her probationer's home and to conduct a warrant-less search. See Grubbs, 373 So.2d at 908 (discussing the holding in Croteau, 334 So.2d at 577). In both Grubbs, 373 So.2d at 908, and Croteau, 334 So.2d at 580, the supreme court concluded that material evidence discovered during such a probationary search is admissible in a revocation proceeding. The court cautioned, however, that the authority for a probationary search does not validate an otherwise unreasonable search in regard to the prosecution of a separate criminal offense. Grubbs, 373 So.2d at 908-10; Croteau, 334 So.2d at 580; see also Soca v. State, 673 So.2d 24 (Fla.1996) (discussing Grubbs). Significant to the present case, both Cro-teau and Grubbs addressed whether evidence obtained during a probationary search could be admitted in the prosecution of a new and separate criminal offense against a probationer.
The present case has nothing to do with the use of evidence against a probationer in a new criminal proceeding. Instead, this case concerns evidence obtained during the course of a probationary search which implicated someone other than the probationer — evidence which implicated Yule. In considering whether the evidence obtained from Yule should be suppressed, two distinct phases of the conduct of the probation officers and the detectives must be evaluated. The first phase is the entry of the residence; the second phase is the initial detention and questioning of Yule.
We agree with the State's argument that the sheriffs detectives as well as the probation officers legally entered the residence shared by Ms. Ellison and Yule. The probation officers had the authority to enter Ms. Ellison's residence to conduct a warrantless probationary search to determine whether she was in violation of her probation under either federal or state constitutional standards. Compare United States v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112, 122, 122 S.Ct. 587, 151 L.Ed.2d 497 (2001) (applying a totality of the circumstances test, the Court held that a warrantless search conducted by a law enforcement officer, supported by reasonable suspicion and authorized by a consented-to condition of probation which allowed both law enforcement and probation officers to conduct a warrantless search, was reasonable within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and evidence seized during such a search could properly be admitted in a prosecution on new criminal charges), with Soca, 673 So.2d at 28 (explaining that in order to strike a balance between the state's need to supervise probationers and an individual's constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures pursuant to Article I, Section 12 of the Florida Constitution, the "Grubbs rule" authorizes a probation officer to conduct a warrant-less probationary search but limits the admissibility of evidence obtained during the search). Under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, as interpreted in Knights, the reasonable suspicion of the probation officers concerning criminal activities by Ms. Ellison, which stands unchallenged, provided a sufficient basis for the entry and warrantless search of the residence. Under Article I, Section 12 of the Florida Constitution, as inter preted in Grubbs and Soca, the authority of the probation officers to monitor and control the probationer, Ms. Ellison, provided a sufficient basis for them to enter her residence and conduct a warrantless search. Either way, the probation officers had the authority to enter and conduct a warrantless.search of Ms. Ellison's home.
The sheriffs detectives accompanied the probation officers during the probationary search as a safety precaution. Again, such a precautionary measure violated neither the Fourth Amendment nor Article I, Section 12 under the facts of this case. Compare United States v. Brown, 346 F.3d 808, 812 (8th Cir.2003) (holding that under balancing test set forth in Knights, additional intrusion into the probationer's privacy resulting from additional law enforcement presence did not violate Fourth Amendment even where the consented-to condition of probation authorized only probation officers to conduct warrantless searches of the probationer's home but noting that, like Knights, the search was supported by reasonable suspicion; the governmental interest in ensuring probation officer safety outweighs any marginal, additional intrusion into the probationer's privacy), with Soca, 673 So.2d at 26 n. 2 (addressing the application of Grubbs, the Florida Supreme Court noted the internal rules of the Florida Department of Corrections included the preference that probationary searches be carried out with the assistance of local law enforcement officers).
Once lawfully inside the residence, the detectives encountered Yule in the living room of the residence, instructed him to stay in the living room for reasons of officer safety, and one of the detectives asked him if he had any weapons. We conclude that the interest in officer safety provided an adequate justification for Yule's initial detention and the detective's inquiry concerning weapons.
There is no dispute concerning the events that transpired once Yule was detained. Yule acknowledged that he had a knife and. voluntarily lifted his shirt thereby exposing the pen cartridge — with the telltale white residue — to the plain view of the detective who had asked him if he had any weapons. At that point, the detective had probable cause to arrest Yule, which further justified the patdown that produced additional evidence. The detective's subsequent recovery of the tinfoil boat was the result of Yule's voluntary incriminating statement made after the detective had advised Yule of his Miranda rights.
The probationary search of the residence was justified and the detectives properly accompanied the probation officers during the search to provide additional security. To secure the premises and ensure officer safety, the detectives properly detained and questioned Yule. At each step along the way, the probation officers and the detectives acted based on proper legal authority.
Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's suppression order and remand the case for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
ALTENBERND, C.J., and WHATLEY, J., Concur.
CANADY, J., Concurs with opinion.
. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).
. The Florida Supreme Court has held that evidence obtained through a probationary search is admissible in a probation revocation proceeding, see Grubbs, 373 So.2d at 908, and its progeny, and that evidence obtained through an unlawful search is inadmissible in a probation revocation proceeding, see State v. Scarlet, 800 So.2d 220 (Fla.2001).
.The State argues that under the conformity clause contained in Article I, Section 12 of the Florida Constitution, Croteau and Grubbs have been superseded, at least in part, by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112, 122 S.Ct. 587, 151 L.Ed.2d 497 (2001). Although the State may be correct, we conclude that we have no need to resolve this issue. The outcome of the present case does not depend on whether the decisions of the Florida Supreme Court in Croteau, Grubbs, or Soca have been superseded by the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Knights. Under all of the foregoing decisions as applied to the facts in the present case, the probation officers had the authority to enter the probationer's residence and conduct a probationary search of that residence without a warrant.
. The Florida Supreme Court in Grubbs was not asked to address an actual search but rather to determine the propriety of a unilateral condition in a probation order which granted broad search authority to the probation supervisor and any law enforcement officer. In Grubbs, the supreme court concluded that the condition violated Article I, Section 12 of the Florida Constitution, as well as the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
. We note that our record does not establish whether the condition of probation in the present case was like that in Knights, a condition which allowed both law enforcement and probation officers to conduct a warrantless search of the probationer's home. However, under Florida law a condition which permits probation supervisors to visit a probationer's home is a standard condition of probation which may be included in a probation order. § 948.03(l)(b), Fla. Stat. (2002).
. The State has not addressed the issue of whether Ms. Ellison's consent to the search was voluntary and whether the search was thus independently justified on that basis.
. In Soca, the Florida Supreme Court noted the then — applicable internal rules of the Florida Department of Corrections set forth a procedure to be followed by probation officers in effecting a search with or without a warrant. Soca, 673 So.2d at 26 n. 2. That procedure contemplated the assistance of local law enforcement officers where possible. Id. The record before this court is silent in regard to the internal rules effective at the time of this probationary search.