Opinion ID: 710248
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Inevitable Discovery of the Currency in Mr. Jones' Pocket

Text: 30 As we have noted, Otto Jones sought unsuccessfully in advance of trial to suppress all evidence concerning the statements he made following his arrest and the $299 in genuine currency found in the pocket of his bathrobe. No use was made at trial of any post-arrest statement Mr. Jones made to the arresting agents; at this juncture, consequently, only the admission of the cash found on his person is material. We review the district court's decision to deny Mr. Jones' motion to suppress that evidence for clear error. E.g., United States v. Willis, 61 F.3d 526, 529 (7th Cir.1995), pet. for cert. filed (Oct. 23, 1995) (No. 95-6488); United States v. Saadeh, 61 F.3d 510, 516 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 521, 133 L.Ed.2d 428 (1995). 31 Before we embark on an analysis of the relevant legal precedents and the facts, we need to make several points clear. First, we note that the record does not make clear precisely when Mr. Jones was searched. Below, Mr. Jones asserted that he was both arrested and searched (presumably incident to the arrest) within a short time after the authorities were admitted to the house (R. 38 at 1-2, 4; R. 44 at 1, 4); on appeal, however, he argues that the pat-down search took place at some point prior to his arrest (Opening Br. at 10). We shall assume consistent with Mr. Jones' position on appeal and with the government's understanding of the chronology of events (see Gov.Br. at 32 n. 9), that Mr. Jones was patted down prior to his arrest. Second, although we do not know just when either the arrest or the pat-down of Mr. Jones which yielded the $299 took place, the government does not argue that the authorities had probable cause to arrest Mr. Jones at the moment he was searched (thus justifying the search as one incident to arrest), nor do they offer any other basis for the pat-down. Thus, we shall assume, consistent with Mr. Jones' argument, that the authorities exceeded the bounds of the Fourth Amendment when they searched Mr. Jones' person at the moment they did. The only basis on which the government defends the admission of the currency found in the pocket of Mr. Jones' bathrobe, and the only basis on which the district court allowed it, is the doctrine of inevitable discovery. In essence, the government maintains that despite the lack of probable cause to arrest Mr. Jones and to search him when the pat-down was conducted, the authorities would ultimately have had probable cause for the arrest and search before leaving the premises of the Jones household, rendering discovery of the $299 in his pocket inevitable. 32 In striking a balance between society's interest in deterring police misconduct and its comparable concern that juries not be deprived of probative evidence, the Supreme Court has concluded that when the authorities have seized evidence in violation of statutory or constitutional protections, they should be placed in no better, but no worse, a position than they would have been had no impropriety occurred. See Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431, 443, 104 S.Ct. 2501, 2508, 81 L.Ed.2d 377 (1984). The inevitable discovery doctrine exemplifies that balance. Whereas the exclusionary rule deprives the prosecution of evidence tainted by official wrongdoing and thereby discourages future improprieties, the inevitable discovery exception to the rule permits the introduction of evidence that eventually would have been located had there been no error, for in that instance there is no nexus sufficient to provide a taint. Id. at 448, 104 S.Ct. at 2511. Thus: 33 If the prosecution can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the information ultimately or inevitably would have been discovered by lawful means ... then the deterrence rationale has so little basis that the evidence should be received. Anything less would reject logic, experience, and common sense. 34 Id. at 444, 104 S.Ct. at 2509 (footnote omitted). The government's invocation of this doctrine calls upon the court to decide whether the government ultimately and legitimately would have discovered the money in the pocket of Mr. Jones' bathrobe had he not been patted down prematurely, in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. All parties appear to agree that if the agents searching the Jones household otherwise would have had probable cause to arrest Otto Jones by the time they departed the premises, they in fact would have arrested him, patted him down at that time, and located the money in his pocket. 8 We therefore consider the question whether the agents did, before they left the premises, have probable cause to arrest Mr. Jones based on the other evidence they lawfully observed in the Jones' home. 9 35 Police officers have probable cause to make an arrest where 'the facts and circumstances within their knowledge and of which they [have] reasonably trustworthy information [are] sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that the [suspect] had committed or was committing an offense.'  United States v. Levy, 990 F.2d 971, 973 (7th Cir.1993) (quoting Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964)); see also Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 479, 83 S.Ct. 407, 413, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963). There are, of course, no bright lines that circumscribe the realm of probable cause. See Jones v. Webb, 45 F.3d 178, 181-82 (7th Cir.1995). 36 The rule of probable cause has been described as a practical, nontechnical conception that accommodates the often competing interests of effective law enforcement and the privacy and liberty of law-abiding citizens. See Brinegar [v. United States ], 338 U.S. at 176, 69 S.Ct. [1302] at 1311 [93 L.Ed. 1879] [ (1949) ]. The on-the-spot determination often requires an exercise of judgment, which 'turn[s] on the assessment of probabilities in particular factual contexts--not readily or even usefully reduced to a neat set of legal rules.'  Maxwell [v. City of Indianapolis ], 998 F.2d at 434 [ (7th Cir.1993) ] (citing Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 232, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2329 [76 L.Ed.2d 527] (1983)). In recognition of the endless scenarios confronting police officers in their daily regimen, courts evaluate probable cause not on the facts as an omniscient observer would perceive them but on the facts as they would have appeared to a reasonable person in the position of the arresting officer--seeing what he saw, hearing what he heard. Mahoney v. Kesery, 976 F.2d 1054, 1057 (7th Cir.1992) (citing Richardson v. Bonds, 860 F.2d 1427, 1431 (7th Cir.1988)). In practice, then, it can be said that [p]robable cause--the area between suspicion and virtual certainty--describes not a point but a zone, Llaguno v. Mingey, 763 F.2d 1560, 1565 (7th Cir.1985) (en banc), within which reasonable mistakes will be excused. See Brinegar, 338 U.S. at 176, 69 S.Ct. at 1311. 37 Sheik-Abdi v. McClellan, 37 F.3d 1240, 1246 (7th Cir.1994) (emphasis in original), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 937, 130 L.Ed.2d 882 (1995). 38 We turn to consider the facts as they would have appeared to the agents who arrested Mr. Jones, excluding from the picture, of course, the money discovered in the patdown of his person. Before entering the house, Special Agents Waterford and Doyle had, in the course of their surveillance, witnessed a number of individuals approach and/or enter the house for short periods and leave carrying what appeared to be currency. Indeed, the agents observed Duncan do so on two occasions that day; 10 and in each instance they sighted Duncan a short time after Special Agents Larson and Matanich had given Informant One money to acquire counterfeit currency through Duncan and a short time before the informant returned to Special Agents Larson and Matanich with counterfeit bills. Upon entering the house, the agents witnessed Ann Jones attempting to stuff into her pants what on inspection turned out to be an envelope containing thousands of dollars in counterfeit bills. Mr. Jones, notably, was in her immediate presence as she was doing so. The officers subsequently discovered the equipment used to produce the bills scattered throughout the house--the copier, colored pencils, and briefcase with blank paper in the bedroom; the mock-ups of original bills underneath the mattress; the stamper in the rear stairwell; additional blank paper in the kitchen. Counterfeit currency was also discovered in the rear stairwell and on top of the television in the basement. Much of this contraband was in plain view. Indeed, the fact that several of the items were found in the master bedroom that Mr. and Mrs. Jones presumably shared only increases the likelihood that Mr. Jones was aware of, and had access to, the counterfeiting materials. 39 With all of these circumstances in mind, we do not believe it clear error for the district court to conclude that the officers would have had probable cause to arrest Mr. Jones before they left the premises irrespective of the money found in the pocket of his bathrobe. It is undisputed that Mr. Jones lived on the premises, as his state of attire at the time of the arrest tends to confirm. Indeed, given that he had not been observed either leaving or returning to the premises in the course of the surveillance, so far as the officers knew he had been on the premises throughout the day. And during that time, numerous people had visited the house with the apparent purpose of obtaining counterfeit money, in a number of cases ringing the doorbell to announce their arrival and in some instances being admitted inside the house. Given the fairly extensive amount of trafficking in counterfeit money Ann Jones had apparently conducted on the premises on that day alone, the evidence of counterfeiting scattered throughout the basement and first floor of the home, the officers conducting the search reasonably could have concluded that Mr. Jones, as a resident of the premises (indeed, one who was present while Mrs. Jones attempted to hide counterfeit bills on her person) was not only aware of the counterfeiting activity, but played some part in it. See United States v. Pace, 898 F.2d 1218, 1240 (7th Cir.) (police had probable cause to arrest defendants after search of condominium, where defendants had been seen emerging from rooms where large amounts of money and cocaine were found), cert. denied sub nom. Cialoni v. United States, 497 U.S. 1030, 110 S.Ct. 3286, 111 L.Ed.2d 795 (1990), and cert. denied sub nom. Savides v. United States, 498 U.S. 878, 111 S.Ct. 210, 112 L.Ed.2d 170 (1990); United States v. Jones, 696 F.2d 479, 486 (7th Cir.1982) (police had probable cause to arrest defendant present in motel room, where room was littered with drug paraphernalia and substances resembling drugs), cert. denied, 462 U.S. 1106, 103 S.Ct. 2453, 77 L.Ed.2d 1333 (1983). We recognize that the illegal acts of one individual cannot automatically be attributed to her spouse as well; ultimately, the government must make an independent case for the spouse's culpability. See United States v. Castro, 788 F.2d 1240, 1249 (7th Cir.1986). Mr. Jones' mere propinquity to Mrs. Jones and the site of her trafficking of counterfeit did not supply the authorities with probable cause to arrest him. Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85, 91, 100 S.Ct. 338, 342, 62 L.Ed.2d 238 (1979). And, until the fingerprint analysis was completed some time after the search, the officers had little information tying Mr. Jones directly to the counterfeiting activity. Nonetheless, we cannot say that no reasonable person could accept the district court's conclusion that the officers' on-the-spot assessment of Mr. Jones' likely involvement lay within the zone of probable cause. Given Mr. Jones' evident status as a resident of a private household in which counterfeit money was being sold on regular basis and in which the evidence of counterfeiting lay in plain view, one could fairly conclude that the arresting agents had probable cause particularized as to Mr. Jones himself. See id. at 91, 100 S.Ct. at 342; Pace, 898 F.2d at 1240. 11 40 At trial, of course, the defense attempted to show that to whatever extent Ann Jones had trafficked in counterfeit money, Mr. Jones was not aware of her conduct, let alone a participant in it. Thus, for example, Ann Jones testified that Otto had been sleeping in the basement (to avoid noise from the rest of the house) throughout the day prior to the search, and that she had been careful not to attract his attention on the occasions she sold counterfeit bills to Doris Duncan. Certainly there is evidence in the record to support her testimony. Mr. Jones was, after all, dressed in pajamas and a bathrobe when the officers arrived that evening to execute the search warrant. But it is also possible, and not unreasonable, to think that in light of the array of counterfeit money and the materials used to produce it in the house, not to mention the number of people who visited the home that day and left with what appeared to be currency, that Otto Jones was not, in reality, oblivious to what was transpiring. The probable cause determination does not require the fine resolution of conflicting evidence that a reasonable-doubt or even a preponderance standard demands, and credibility determinations are seldom crucial in deciding whether the evidence supports a reasonable belief in guilt. Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 121, 95 S.Ct. 854, 867, 43 L.Ed.2d 54 (1975). 41 Although he concedes that he shared with Ann the master bedroom where the copier and other items were found, Otto Jones suggests that the arresting officers would not have known that fact (and thus inferred his knowledge of and/or access to the key items of contraband found within) had he not been prematurely arrested and retrieved his clothing from that bedroom. For several reasons, we find his assertion unpersuasive. First, although we do not wish to make categorical assumptions about the sleeping arrangements of married couples, certainly it would not have been unreasonable for the officers on the scene to assume that Ann Jones shared a bedroom with her husband. Certainly Mr. Jones has identified nothing in the record that would have suggested otherwise to the arresting officers. On the contrary, the sole testimony in the record as to this fact suggests that the officers noted two bedrooms in the first floor living area, one of which contained clothing appearing to belong to a younger woman (no doubt Keisha Williamson), and the other--the master bedroom--containing the clothes of an adult male and female. 12 Exactly when the officers made these observations (i.e., before or after they arrested Otto Jones) is not clear; but we think it safe to assume that even had the officers not observed Mr. Jones retrieving clothing from the master bedroom he shared with Mrs. Jones, they would have looked into the closets and noted the presence of male clothing in that room before leaving the premises. 42 Because it is reasonable to conclude based on the facts of record that the officers executing the search warrant would have attained probable cause to arrest Mr. Jones before leaving the premises, even had they not patted him down prematurely and discovered the $299 in his pocket, we find no clear error in the district court's determination that discovery of the $299 was inevitable. 43 A cautionary word is in order before we move on. As Nix itself makes clear, when the government relies on the inevitable discovery doctrine, it bears the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it would have found the challenged evidence through lawful means. 467 U.S. at 444, 104 S.Ct. at 2509. In this case, the district court resolved the motion to suppress on the written memoranda submitted by the parties, without conducting an evidentiary hearing. Moreover, although the government did tender some exhibits in support of its inevitable discovery claim, it proffered no testimony establishing what procedures it would have followed had Mr. Jones not been patted down prematurely and demonstrating why those procedures would have led ultimately to his arrest and the search of his person. For several reasons, we do not find the omission fatal to the district court's inevitable discovery analysis. In this case, a search of the Jones household was already underway when Mr. Jones was patted down improperly, and it is solely that search of the premises and the evidence it produced that the government relies on as the source of probable cause to arrest Mr. Jones. Cf. Nix, 467 U.S. at 448-50, 104 S.Ct. at 2511-12 (search was already approaching location of victim's body when police improperly elicited the location from the defendant himself). Consequently, there is no dispute as to what steps the government might have taken had no impropriety occurred. Instead, the focus of the dispute here is on whether the information that the search of the house yielded was enough to supply probable cause to arrest Mr. Jones. See n. 8, supra. Furthermore, there is no material dispute as to the facts surrounding the search or as to what the authorities learned from it. Under these circumstances, we do not think the government was compelled to tender additional evidence or that the district court was obliged to conduct a hearing in order to receive it. But we wish to stress that the burden of proof Nix imposes on the government ordinarily will require the government to do more than it did in this case. Nix, we repeat, speaks in terms of proof by preponderance of the evidence that the government would have discovered the challenged evidence through lawful means; and typically that will entail testimony rather than mere argument. It is all too easy to imagine in retrospect lawful avenues through which the government might have obtained evidence that in reality it came upon in contravention of the Fourth Amendment. Speculation and assumption do not satisfy the dictates of Nix, however. See United States v. Brown, 64 F.3d 1083, 1091 (7th Cir.1995) (Rovner, J., dissenting). Inevitable discovery is not an exception to be invoked casually, and if it is to be prevented from swallowing the Fourth Amendment and the exclusionary rule, courts must take care to hold the government to its burden of proof. 44