Opinion ID: 2330526
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Probable Cause and Staleness

Text: We turn first to the constitutional rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment and determine whether, at the time of the issuance of the search warrant in the case sub judice, there was a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed. The Fourth Amendment provides: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. U.S. CONST. amend. IV. As the Supreme Court noted: The driving force behind the adoption of the [Fourth] Amendment, as suggested by Madison's advocacy, was widespread hostility among the former colonists to the issuance of writs of assistance empowering revenue officers to search suspected places for smuggled goods, and general search warrants permitting the search of private houses, often to uncover papers that might be used to convict persons of libel. . . . The available historical data show[s], therefore, that the purpose of the Fourth Amendment was to protect the people of the United States against arbitrary action by their own Government. United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259, 266, 110 S.Ct. 1056, 1062, 108 L.Ed.2d 222, 233 reh'g denied, 494 U.S. 1092, 110 S.Ct. 1839, 108 L.Ed.2d 968 (1990). Probable cause has been defined by this Court as a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. Malcolm v. State, 314 Md. 221, 227, 550 A.2d 670, 673 (1988) (quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L.Ed.2d 527, 548 (1983)). Probable cause is a nontechnical conception of a reasonable ground for belief' that the items sought will be found in the premises searched. Edwardsen v. State, 243 Md. 131, 136, 220 A.2d 547, 550 (1966). Probable cause involves practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent men, not legal technicians act. Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 1310, 93 L.Ed. 1879, 1890, reh'g denied, 338 U.S. 839, 70 S.Ct. 31, 94 L.Ed. 513 (1949). Before conducting a search, ordinarily the police must obtain a search warrant that is, itself, based upon sufficient probable cause to justify its issuance as to each person or place named therein. State v. Ward, 350 Md. 372, 387, 712 A.2d 534, 541 (1998) (quoting People v. Easley, 34 Cal.3d 858, 196 Cal.Rptr. 309, 671 P.2d 813, 820 (1983) aff'd on reh'g 46 Cal.3d 712, 250 Cal.Rptr. 855, 759 P.2d 490 (1988)). The judge issuing that warrant must make a practical common-sense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit before him [or her], including the `veracity' and `basis of knowledge' of persons supplying hearsay information, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. Gates, 462 U.S. at 238, 103 S.Ct. at 2332, 76 L.Ed.2d at 548. In making an assessment of probable cause, one of the factors the warrant-issuing judge must consider is whether the event[s] or circumstance[s] constituting probable cause, occurred at . . . [a] time . . . so remote from the date of the affidavit as to render it improbable that the alleged violation of law authorizing the search was extant at the time. . . . Peterson v. State, 281 Md. 309, 314, 379 A.2d 164, 167 (1977), cert. denied 435 U.S. 945, 98 S.Ct. 1528, 55 L.Ed.2d 542 (1978) (internal citations omitted); Sgro v. United States, 287 U.S. 206, 210, 53 S.Ct. 138, 140, 77 L.Ed. 260, 263 (1932) (noting that proof must be of facts so closely related to the time of the issue of the warrant as to justify a finding of probable cause at that time). As we noted in Greenstreet: There is no `bright-line' rule for determining the `staleness' of probable cause; rather, it depends upon the circumstances of each case, as related in the affidavit for the warrant. Connelly v. State, 322 Md. 719, 733, 589 A.2d 958, 965-66 (1991) (citations omitted). Factors used to determine staleness include: passage of time, the particular kind of criminal activity involved, the length of the activity, and the nature of the property to be seized. Peterson v. State, 281 Md. 309, 317-18, 379 A.2d 164, 168-69 (1977) (citations omitted). The Court of Special Appeals explained the general rule of stale probable cause in Andresen v. State, 24 Md.App. 128, 331 A.2d 78 (1975), which we adopted in Peterson: The ultimate criterion in determining the degree of evaporation of probable cause, however, is not case law but reason. The likelihood that the evidence sought is still in place is a function not simply of watch and calendar but of variables that do not punch a clock: the character of the crime (chance encounter in the night or regenerating conspiracy?), of the criminal (nomadic or entrenched?), of the thing to be seized (perishable and easily transferable or of enduring utility to its holder?), of the place to be searched (mere criminal forum of convenience or secure operational base?), etc. The observation of a half-smoked marijuana cigarette in an ashtray at a cocktail party may well be stale the day after the cleaning lady has been in; the observation of the burial of a corpse in a cellar may well not be stale three decades later. The hare and the tortoise do not disappear at the same rate of speed. Andresen, 24 Md.App. at 172, 331 A.2d at 106. Where the affidavit in a case recites facts indicating activity of a protracted and continuous nature, or a course of conduct, the passage of time becomes less significant, so as not to vitiate the warrant. Peterson, 281 Md. at 318, 379 A.2d at 168-69 (citations omitted); see also Lee v. State, 47 Md. App. 213, 219, 422 A.2d 62, 65 (1980) (finding probable cause stale when based upon a drug sale from defendant's apartment eleven months before application for a warrant); Connelly, 322 Md. at 734, 589 A.2d at 966 (concluding that probable cause could be found to be stale where the probable cause finding was based on evidence of an alleged illegal lottery operation from observations taken over a few months, beginning nine months prior to application for the warrant); Amerman, 84 Md.App. at 475, 581 A.2d at 26 (finding probable cause not stale when based on evidence of alleged illegal drug sales from surveillance and investigation conducted one month prior to warrant application). 392 Md. at 674-75, 898 A.2d at 974-75. Patterson contends that the search warrant in this case was based upon a chain of speculations that fell drastically short of establishing a `fair probability' that thirty-four days after being stopped by police for a traffic offense [Patterson] was keeping a gun in a motel room rented by his brother. In other words, Patterson argues that the `fair probability' . . . was that [he] had not possessed and discarded a gun in the wooded area. Patterson posits that the fact that the police discovered an empty holster underneath him was not sufficient to establish probable cause, and that even if probable cause existed on October 14, 2003, it was clearly stale for purposes of the Fourth Amendment when the officers applied for and obtained a warrant [thirty-four] days later. The State argues that the police had probable cause and the Court of Special Appeals' decision should be affirmed. The State asserts that Officer Haak . . . made observations and reasonable inferences based on specific information, and came to a well-supported conclusion regarding the missing firearm. Adopting the rationale of the Court of Special Appeals, the State contends that the application for the search and seizure warrant provided information sufficient to establish probable cause that a firearm and related items existed at Patterson's [m]otel room at the Red Roof Inn. In support of their position that a reasonable inference is that [Patterson] retrieved [the gun] and kept it . . . at his `temporary residence,' the State principally cites United States v. Steeves, 525 F.2d 33 (8th Cir.1975), and Lockett v. State, 879 S.W.2d 184 (Tex.App.-Houston 1994). In Peterson, this Court addressed staleness in the context of a probable cause determination. In that case, William DeWayne Peterson's apartment was searched pursuant to a warrant and as a result of the evidence seized therein, Peterson was convicted of possession of heroin with an intent to distribute, possession of marijuana, and possession of controlled paraphernalia. Peterson contended that the facts used to establish probable cause were stale and therefore the search and seizure was unreasonable. The Court disagreed, concluding that traffic in illegal drugs is ordinarily a regenerating activity, and there was clear indication [in that case] that the activity was continual, a course of conduct regularly followed over a protracted time. Peterson, 281 Md. at 321, 379 A.2d at 170. Accordingly, viewing the affidavit as a whole, the Court held that surveillance of narcotics activities that began three months prior to the issuance of the warrant did not render the probable cause stale. Id. In the case sub judice, the State relies on Steeves, 525 F.2d 33. In Steeves, Henry Albert Steeves appealed his conviction for unlawful receipt and possession of two rifles in violation of 18 U.S.C.A.App. § 1202(a)(1). On September 17, 1974, Steeves's house was searched by FBI agents pursuant to a warrant. During the search, two rifles were discovered and seized. The search warrant was issued in connection with an investigation of the robbery, of a Minnesota bank, that had been committed on June 22, 1974, nearly three months before the warrant was issued. Steeves, 525 F.2d at 35. The warrant was issued to search for items relating to the bank robbery: black trousers, a black waist-length jacket, a black ski mask, a .357 [M]agnum handgun and silencer, a money bag . . ., and proceeds [from] the robbery. . . . Steeves, 525 F.2d at 36. On appeal, Steeves argued that because of the lapse in time between the bank robbery and the issuance of the warrant, there was no probable cause to believe that any of the items in question were still in the defendant's home if they had ever been there. Steeves, 525 F.2d at 36-37. The court rejected Steeves's contention, holding that with respect to the handgun, the ski mask, and clothing, it was reasonable to believe that those items would still be in Steeves's house. Steeves, 525 F.2d at 38. The court explained that people who own pistols generally keep them at home or on their persons, although, apart from [Steeves's] prior felony record[,] possession of the pistol was not unlawful in itself or particularly incriminating. Id. We are not persuaded that Steeves, aside from standing for the proposition that pistol owners store them at their home, supports the State's argument that it is reasonable to infer that Patterson retrieved the alleged weapon and kept it with him in the motel room. In fact, Steeves is distinguishable on several points. First, the search warrant in Steeves arose out of an armed robbery charge and involved a handgun used in the commission of that robbery. Second, a witness to the bank robbery in Steeves actually saw the perpetrator in possession of a handgun. This is in sharp contrast to the facts of this case, in which no handgun was ever seen in Patterson's possession, by the police officers or any witnesses. In Lockett, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, pursuant to a warrant, searched Freddie Raye Lockett's residence, seizing a handgun, ammunition, and a baggie containing cocaine. Lockett was subsequently convicted of aggravated possession of cocaine. On appeal, Lockett argued, inter alia, that the federal warrant was based upon information that was too `stale' to support a finding of probable cause. Lockett, 879 S.W.2d at 187. Holding that the federal magistrate had a substantial basis for finding probable cause and issuing the federal search warrant, the court concluded that Lockett's possession of firearms was of a protracted and continuous nature . . . [such that] the passage of time [was] less significant. Lockett, 879 S.W.2d at 189. Lockett and Steeves are distinguishable from the present case, for additional reasons. The court concluded that Lockett's possession was continuous in nature. The affidavit contained information based upon the knowledge of two informants who knew Lockett owned several firearms, and had personally viewed various firearms in Lockett's residence. No such information was included in the affidavit in the instant case. More importantly, neither Steeves nor Lockett support the inference that Patterson retrieved the handgun from the scene of the arrest, as suggested by the State. The State, without any factual basis or reasonable inference drawn from the facts, asks this Court to accept the inference that between the time of Patterson's release from detention and the time after Officer Haak searched the area near his arrest, that Patterson returned and retrieved a handgun. The facts simply do not support such an inference. The State failed to offer any evidence that Patterson returned to the area of the chase. Without corroborating facts that support reasonable probabilities that Patterson dropped a gun and returned to retrieve it, the judge issuing the warrant had no reason to believe that Patterson would be in possession of a handgun, thirty-four days later. To draw that conclusion amounts to nothing more than mere speculation. We turn next to the particular kind of activity involved. In this case, Patterson was suspected of possessing a handgun. The State fails to make a specific argument regarding the particular kind of activity involved, but does note that Patterson's record included arrests for concealed weapon charges and a conviction for accessory to murder after the fact. In the State's view, [t]his reveals that firearms had a utility for Patterson and . . . [also that] firearms are not the type of evidence that would be discarded. The major premise of the affidavit in support of the search warrant was that Patterson had a firearm and it was either discarded or lost during the chase. Even if we assume arguendo that Patterson possessed a hand-gun when he ran from the police, and that it would have had utility for him, there is no factual predicate to support a reasonable inference that Patterson returned to the area after his detention and retrieved it. Although, the police did conduct some surveillance of Patterson after his release, there was no evidence that he was ever seen again in the vicinity of the earlier stop and arrest. We analyze together the next factors in the staleness analysis: passage of time and the length of the activity. The State argues that the passage of time and length of activity, thirty-four days, does not render the affidavit for the search warrant stale because the police investigation of Patterson continued up until the time of execution of the warrant. In the State's view, the period of time between Patterson's arrest and the search was minimal compared to other cases where this Court and the Court of Special Appeals have found that the probable cause was, in fact, stale. In support, the State cites Greenstreet, 392 Md. at 652, 898 A.2d 961, Lee v. State, 47 Md.App. 213, 422 A.2d 62 (1980), and State v. Amerman, 84 Md.App. 461, 581 A.2d 19 (1990). In Greenstreet, this Court's most recent decision addressing the effect of the passage of time on probable cause, the issue before the Court was whether evidence gathered from a trash seizure constituted sufficient probable cause. On April 15, 2004, Robert Earl Greenstreet's house was searched pursuant to a warrant. A quantity of marijuana was seized from the house resulting in charges against Greenstreet for possession with intent to distribute and related offenses. The supporting affidavit indicated, as the basis for probable cause, that the police conducted a trash seizure at Greenstreet's residence on April 14, 2003. Greenstreet contended that the warrant was stale, on its face, because the affidavit indicated that the trash seizure was executed more than one year before the warrant's issuance. In that case, only one date, remote in time to the issuance of the warrant, was furnished to support probable cause for the search. That evidence fell short of establishing that Greenstreet was involved in the sale of illicit drugs of a protracted and continuous nature. As a result, we concluded that the evidence providing probable cause was stale under the circumstances of th[at] case because it facially existed at a time so remote from the date of the affidavit as to render it improbable that the alleged violation of the law authorizing the search warrant was extant at the time application was made. Greenstreet, 392 Md. at 677, 898 A.2d at 976. In Lee, a police officer obtained a search warrant, to search Robert Edward Lee's apartment. The search of Lee's apartment resulted in the seizure of 33 ½ pounds of marijuana, 510 methaquadone tablets, 742 capsules of amphetamine, a scale, miscellaneous papers belonging to Lee, $7,266 in United States currency and other drug paraphernalia. Lee, 47 Md. App. at 214, 422 A.2d at 63. Lee was subsequently charged and convicted of violations of the Maryland Controlled Dangerous Substances Act. On appeal, Lee argued that the application for the warrant, on its face, was stale and failed to establish probable cause. The supporting affidavit contained several averments that the Court of Special Appeals considered to be merely conclusory. The averment in the affidavit that the court considered not to be conclusory, stated that the police had received information from an informant, eleven months prior to the warrant application, that he had observed narcotics in the apartment. The affidavit failed to provide additional factual allegations that tended to establish that Lee was involved in an illegal activity that was continuous in nature. The intermediate appellate court concluded that the probable cause was stale because the affidavit did not indicate illegal activity of a continual nature. Lee, 47 Md.App. at 231, 422 A.2d at 70. Finally, in Amerman, the execution of a search warrant resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of marijuana, currency, and other drug paraphernalia. Appellees, Quentin Maddox and Jennifer Amerman, who were both present in the house at the time of the search and seizure, were arrested and indicted for various narcotics violations. At the suppression hearing, the judge ruled that the warrant did not establish probable cause and also that the good faith exception did not apply. The Court of Special Appeals disagreed, concluding that the affidavit supported the notion that Maddox was involved in criminal activity that was ongoing and not a random criminal episode. Amerman, 84 Md.App. at 479, 581 A.2d at 28. Accordingly, the court held that the probable cause was reliably fresh. Amerman, 84 Md.App. at 482, 581 A.2d at 29. Unlike the present case, Amerman involved evidence of ongoing criminal activity. With the above cases in mind, we turn to the particular facts of this case. We agree with the State that the staleness of probable cause in Greenstreet and Lee was the result of a longer period of time than that which is involved in the case sub judice. We reiterate, however, that [t]he ultimate criterion in determining the degree of the evaporation of probable cause . . . is not case law but reason. Andresen, 24 Md.App. at 172, 331 A.2d at 106. Although the police investigation in the present case continued up to the time of the execution of the search warrant, the investigation did not reveal probable cause that Patterson was in possession of a handgun. The surveillance of Patterson produced no incriminating evidence that he was involved in any illegal activities. Thus, we decline to accept the inference suggested by the State that probable cause existed to support the warrant for the search of Patterson's temporary residence. Specifically, we conclude that the inference that Patterson returned to the place of his arrest to retrieve a discarded handgun is necessary to support a finding that probable cause existed. As discussed, we find that inference is not supported by the evidence. The question we decide is whether the warrant-issuing judge had a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed, at the time of the warrant application, given that there was a delay between the time of Patterson's arrest and the application for the search warrant. We discuss the inferences contained within the affidavit and highlight those that we consider reasonable. During the traffic stop of Patterson's vehicle, Officer Haak, a member of the Montgomery County Department of Police for two years, neither observed Patterson make any motions as if he was concealing a weapon nor observed a weapon inside of the vehicle or on Patterson's person. Officer Haak detected the odor of burnt marijuana. He did not observe a large quantity of drugs, such that an inference could be drawn that Patterson was involved in drug trafficking and would likely have had a weapon on his person. Although Patterson admitted to smoking marijuana earlier in the day, there is no factual predicate from which to infer, reasonably, that all persons who use marijuana possess firearms. Officer Haak asked Patterson to step out of the vehicle. Officer Haak did not report that he observed a bulge in Patterson's clothing, or made any other observation from which an officer could reasonably infer that Patterson was concealing a weapon on his person as he stepped out of the vehicle. We conclude that, based on the circumstances of the initial stop of Patterson, the warrant-issuing judge did not have a substantial basis to believe, at the time of the issuance of the warrant, that Patterson probably would be found in possession of the gun that the police assumed he had, in his possession, on October 14, 2003. Because the warrant-issuing judge had no factual basis from which he could reasonably conclude that Patterson returned to the scene to retrieve a handgun, it would have been illogical for the judge to conclude that Patterson possessed that same gun, weeks later, in a motel room rented by his brother. Prior to being searched, Patterson ran from Officer Haak. Patterson's flight, by itself, does not suggest that he was concealing a firearm. During the chase, a witness observed Patterson holding his right hip area as if he was concealing something. Nonetheless, no one actually observed a handgun, or anything that resembled a handgun. During the chase, both the officer and the civilian witness lost sight of Patterson. When he was apprehended, the police discovered an empty holster underneath him. Subsequently, in the vicinity of where Patterson was apprehended, the police recovered a magazine containing bullets. Considering the similarity of the size of the magazine and the holster, Officer Haak surmised that the missing gun was of the type that would have fit the holster and the magazine that he found. Even if it were reasonable to believe that the holster and magazine connected Patterson to the gun the police suspected Patterson had prior to his arrest, in order to find probable cause that he had the gun concealed at his home thirty-four days later, the warrant-issuing judge would have had to conclude that Patterson returned to the scene to retrieve it. After the initial stop, Officer Haak contacted the Division of Parole and Probation and obtained Patterson's permanent home address. Although Patterson's arrest record indicated that he had possessed weapons in the past, the police surveillance of Patterson established only that he resided temporarily in a motel room rented by his brother. Patterson was not seen going into the motel room with a handgun or carrying anything that looked like a handgun. The surveillance did not establish that Patterson returned to the scene of the traffic stop to retrieve a handgun, nor did the surveillance reveal that anyone observed at the address under surveillance was in possession of a handgun. Even if we assume, arguendo that the police had probable cause to believe that Patterson was in possession of a handgun at the time of the initial stop, considering the passage of time and the lack of any corroborating facts to support the conclusion that Patterson was involved in any ongoing criminal activity that would connect him to the use of a handgun or that he retrieved what might have been a handgun from the area of the stop, probable cause did not exist thirty-four days later to support the issuance of a search warrant for his residence. The focus of the argument in this Court, was that the warrant authorized a search for a particular handgun, the one that Patterson allegedly had on his person, at the time of the traffic stop. The warrant, however, may be read more broadly to authorize the search for firearms generally. The application for search warrant sought permission to search for evidence [on the premises] of the crime of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and other Firearm Violations. The Addendum to the search warrant provided that `there is presently concealed a firearm and/or ammunition . . .' on the premises. The issuing judge specifically found probable cause to issue a search warrant for evidence of the crimes of Possession of Firearms by a Prohibited Person and other Firearm Violations with the evidence being: please see attached addendum. In our view, if the warrant-issuing judge did not have a substantial basis to believe Patterson retrieved a gun from the area of his apprehension, the judge had even less of a substantial basis to believe that Patterson had any other gun stored at his temporary residence. All the evidence obtained from the traffic stop-Patterson's flight, the holster, the magazine with bullets-is particular to the weapon Patterson was suspected of possessing at the scene of the traffic stop. There is no evidence from the traffic stop and subsequent chase to indicate that Patterson possessed more than one gun or that he had any guns at his residence. In the absence of any direct or circumstantial evidence that Patterson had a gun stored at his residence, Officer Haak must have relied on his suspicion that Patterson had a gun at the time of the traffic stop, and Patterson's subsequently discovered criminal record, to infer that Patterson possessed other firearms at his home. While a criminal record may be considered in conjunction with other evidence to determine probable cause, in this case, there was no evidence directly or inferentially reasonably related to Patterson's having a gun concealed in his home. See Holmes v. State, 368 Md. 506, 519, 796 A.2d 90, 98 (2002)(finding probable cause where the affidavit relied in part on the defendant's past criminal record). Patterson's criminal record, therefore, in combination with an unconfirmed suspicion that Patterson had a firearm at the scene of the traffic stop, was the primary basis for determining that a gun would be found in Patterson's home. In reviewing cases where courts found probable cause to search a residence for a firearm, this Court in State v. Ward, 350 Md. 372, 379-80, 712 A.2d 534, 537 (1998) observed that in each of the cases reviewed or cited below, there was probable cause to believe that a crime of violence, involving the use of a weapon, had been committed, that the defendant was the criminal agent, and that the defendant resided at the place to be searched. In the present case, Officer Haak suspected that Patterson possessed a gun at the time of the traffic stop, and based on that suspicion, he inferred that Patterson had a weapon stored at his home. We have said in the context of a search for contraband that the mere observation, documentation, or suspicion of a defendant's participation in criminal activity will not necessarily suffice, by itself, to establish probable cause that inculpatory evidence will be found in the home. . . . There must be something more that, directly or by reasonable inference, will allow a neutral magistrate to determine that the contraband may be found in the home. Holmes, 368 Md. at 523, 796 A.2d at 100-101.