Opinion ID: 1616861
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Seizure of Boots

Text: At the conclusion of the March 16, 1999, interview, Mata was asked to remove his boots. Rawalt had told Mata to go ahead and take off, and Mata had asked if he could make a call for someone to come and pick him up. Rawalt and Kinsey then asked for Mata's boots, and Kinsey offered to give Mata a ride or allow Mata to call for a ride. Kinsey testified that Mata had no problem with the request for his boots and immediately took the boots off and gave them to me. Adam's blood was found on Mata's boots. The district court concluded that Mata gave consent to the seizure of the boots. The right to be free from an unreasonable search and seizure, as guaranteed by the 4th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and by article I, § 7, of the Nebraska Constitution, may be waived by the consent of the citizen. State v. Dallmann, 260 Neb. 937, 621 N.W.2d 86 (2000). To be effective under the Fourth Amendment, consent to a search must be a free and unconstrained choice and not the product of a will overborne. Consent must be given voluntarily and not as the result of duress or coercion, whether express, implied, physical, or psychological. State v. Tucker, 262 Neb. 940, 636 N.W.2d 853 (2001). Voluntariness of consent to search is a question of fact to be determined from all the circumstances. Id. Mata argues that his consent was not voluntary, because it was given at the conclusion of an involuntary interrogation. This argument is without merit. First, we note that Mata's contention that he was subjected to custodial interrogation was rejected above. Furthermore, as noted by the district court, Mata surrendered his boots after he had been told that the interview was over and that he should go. The record supports the court's factual determination that given all the circumstances, Mata gave voluntary consent to the seizure of his boots. Mata's second assignment of error is without merit.