Opinion ID: 1977461
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Reasonableness of the Search

Text: [¶ 13] Our conclusion that the warrantless stop of Melvin's vehicle to inspect for violations of the motor carrier regulations was constitutional pursuant to the administrative inspection exception to the warrant requirement does not resolve whether the subsequent search of the cab was also justified under this, or any other, exception. The permissible scope of warrantless administrative searches has been a fertile and developing subject of constitutional jurisprudence since Burger. See, e.g., David J. Hardy & Maris E. McCambley, Administrative and Private Searches for Smoking Articles Conducted Pursuant to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act: Constitutional Considerations, 97 W. VA. L.REV. 951 (1995); David A. Christensen, Warrantless Administrative Searches Under Environmental Laws: The Limits to EPA Inspectors' Statutory Invitation, 26 ENVTL. L. 1019 (1996). The Court's majority opinion in Burger did not purport to provide the exclusive criteria by which the constitutional reasonableness of a specific administrative search is determined. Nor do we ignore that our state constitutional analog to the Fourth Amendmentarticle I, section 5 of the Maine Constitution stands as a reminder that, in discharging our constitutional responsibilities, we should not rigidly restrict our inquiry to the Burger criteria if, by doing so, we fail to account for the core state constitutional value that all searches and seizures must not be unreasonable. [3] Accordingly, we adhere to the view that the Burger criteria are not an ironclad checklist to be rigidly applied on pain of being accused of lack of principle or lack of adherence to stare decisis. People v. Scott, 79 N.Y.2d 474, 583 N.Y.S.2d 920, 593 N.E.2d 1328, 1347 (1992) (Kaye, J., concurring) (emphasis added). [¶ 14] Because the reasonableness of a particular search or seizure is the constitutional focal point, we must ask whether, under the circumstances, the search of the cab of Melvin's tractor-trailer was itself reasonable. See Castelo, 415 F.3d at 411. We answer this question affirmatively because the search of the cab of Melvin's tractor-trailer was based on probable cause and in accordance with the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. Deciding this case on the basis of the automobile exception makes it unnecessary for us to further develop the bounds of the administrative search exception. Therefore, we leave for a future day our examination of the circumstances under which a warrantless administrative search is reasonable even though probable cause is absent. [¶ 15] Pursuant to the automobile exception, the existence of probable cause justifies a warrantless seizure and reasonable search of a motor vehicle irrespective of the existence of exigent circumstances. State v. Ireland, 1998 ME 35, ¶ 7, 706 A.2d 597, 599 (quotation marks omitted). Probable cause exists when the officers' personal knowledge of facts and circumstances, in combination with any reasonably trustworthy information conveyed to them, would warrant a prudent person to believe that the area to be searched holds evidence of a crime. . . . State v. Drown, 2007 ME 142, ¶ 8, 937 A.2d 157, 159 (quotation marks omitted). [¶ 16] After Melvin stopped at the mandatory checkpoint, probable cause to search the cab of his tractor trailer arose because (1) Melvin's logbook looked suspicious and possibly false; (2) Melvin denied being in possession of toll receipts; (3) toll receipts would either corroborate or dispute Melvin's suspicious logbook entries; and (4) the supervising officer personally observed toll receipts inside the cab when Melvin pulled out his folder. Under these circumstances, the search of the cab of Melvin's tractor-trailer and the seizure of the toll receipts were justified because the officer had probable cause to believe that the search would produce evidence of the crime of operating a commercial motor vehicle with a false driver's log, 29-A M.R.S. § 558(1-B)(A). [¶ 17] Because the initial stop of Melvin's tractor-trailer, the search of the cab, and the seizure of the toll receipts from the cab were reasonable under exceptions to the warrant requirement, the District Court did not err by denying Melvin's motion to suppress. The entry is: Judgment affirmed.