Opinion ID: 1704603
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Did the trial court err in allowing the introduction of evidence seized during searches of Logan's home and shop?

Text: ¶ 11. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. U.S. Const. amend. IV. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, and possessions, from unreasonable seizure or search. Miss. Const. art. 3, § 23 (1890). ¶ 12. In Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973), the United States Supreme Court held that when determining whether consent to a warrantless search was given voluntarily, the totality of the circumstances must be examined. In Jackson v. State, 418 So.2d 827, 830 (Miss. 1982), this Court adopted that federal standard. As a consequence of adopting the voluntariness test for consent searches, the [United States Supreme] Court concluded that `while the subject's knowledge of a right to refuse is a factor to be taken into account, the prosecution is not required to demonstrate such knowledge as a prerequisite to establishing a voluntary consent.' That is, consent may be established without a showing that the police warned the consenting party of his Fourth Amendment rights or that he was otherwise aware of those rights. Jones v. State ex rel. Miss. Dep't of Pub. Safety, 607 So.2d 23, 27 (Miss.1991) (citing Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 249, 93 S.Ct. at 2059, 36 L.Ed.2d at 875); see also Graves v. State, 708 So.2d 858, 863-64 (Miss.1997). ¶ 13. Logan claims that the first search, in which investigating officers only conducted a visual inspection of Logan's shop and did not seize any evidence, was an unconstitutional search in that it was not undertaken with the informed consent of the property owner and was not authorized by a valid search warrant. Logan urges that his wife's decision to permit the inspection was not voluntary since she was both uninformed as to her right to refuse and intimidated by the presence of a large number of law enforcement officials who had arrived unannounced and en masse. At trial, there was a lengthy inquiry into the circumstances that led Mrs. Logan to permit the officers to walk through the shop, and there is no contention that she lacked authority to consent to the inspection. The trial court did not find that Mrs. Logan was so intimidated by the presence of these officers that she felt coerced or forced to permit the inspection against her will. In ruling on such subjective matters, the trial judge is given wide discretion. Luton v. State, 287 So.2d 269, 272 (Miss. 1973). He observes the witnesses first hand, hears the evidence and then determines whether the consent was, in fact, voluntary or not. Id. When his ruling is contested on appeal, an appellate court may set aside that ruling only if that court is satisfied that the trial court was manifestly wrong in so deciding. White v. State, 495 So.2d 1346, 1347 (Miss.1986). This Court finds no manifest error in the trial court's ruling. ¶ 14. One of Logan's arguments rests on the proposition that Mrs. Logan was not affirmatively informed by the officers of her right to decline the inspection of the premises. When the issue is the voluntariness of a consent to search, there is no absolute requirement that the person receive a Miranda -like notification that the person can refuse the officer's request, even though this Court has suggested that it will, using state constitutional concerns, apply a stricter test of voluntariness than the United States Supreme Court does under Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. Penick v. State, 440 So.2d 547 (Miss.1983). According to the Penick decision, there must be a dual determination of consent to search accompanied by a showing that the consent was knowledgeable. Id. at 550. ¶ 15. In this case, after Mrs. Logan was requested to consent to an inspection of her husband's shop, she declined to do so unless the officers agreed to remove a substantial number of the police cars parked at her residence. The very act of attaching conditions to the consent to search and demanding compliance with the conditions before the search began appears a strong indicator that Mrs. Logan understood that she was not obligated to permit the officers to inspect the premises. ¶ 16. Logan's objection to the second search, which was also a consensual one, is not entirely clear. Logan himself consented to this second search and, in fact, signed a written consent form in advance of the search. Again, the issue of whether the consent was obtained through threats or coercion such that it was not, in truth, voluntary is one committed primarily to the broad discretion of the trial court. This Court can find no abuse of that discretion in the trial court's decision not to suppress evidence obtained in that search. ¶ 17. One of Logan's arguments against the third search, conducted under a search warrant, appears to be that information improperly gleaned from the earlier searches of Logan's shop was used to establish probable cause for the warrant. Logan's argument necessarily rests on the foundation that the earlier searches were unconstitutional invasions of federal and state constitutional rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. This Court rejects the charge of impropriety in the earlier searches. Since this third search was conducted pursuant to a warrant obtained on probable cause, there is no arguable basis to exclude any evidence seized during that search. ¶ 18. The third search was also attacked as having been conducted under an invalid warrant because its scope was too broad to meet constitutional strictures. The Fourth Amendment states that a warrant must describe the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.  U.S. Const. amend. IV (emphasis added). The warrant permitted the search and seizure of documents relating to Logan's vehicle repair and rebuilding activities conducted on his premises. Logan contends that this description of items to be searched for in the warrant was too indefinite and did not accurately describe the documents and records actually seized in the search or, in the alternative, described documents that could not possibly have been evidence of the kind of crime then under investigation, i.e., the operation of a chop shop. His argument depends, in part, on the assertion that the warrant included invoices for purchases of automobile parts and a chop shop operator, in the course of operating that kind of illegal activity, would not reasonably be expected to purchase parts. ¶ 19. On this third search, the officers seized a number of files containing invoices for parts purchases and related expenses regarding the rebuilding of wrecked vehicles. Some of these documents later proved to be forged and were used in this criminal prosecution. As Logan was suspected of operating a chop shop where stolen vehicles were brought in and either disassembled to be sold for their constituent parts or disguised so that they would not be readily identifiable, any documents relating to vehicles rebuilt or repaired by Logan at his shop facility would have potential relevance in a criminal investigation. It was not necessary for the officers to know, in advance, what records, invoices, or other documents Logan would actually have on the premises in order to obtain a warrant to search for such evidence so long as they had a reasonable basis to conclude that some such documentary evidence might be discovered on the premises. In that circumstance, the officers' inability to describe with more certainty the documents that would be sought is not fatal to the warrant. ¶ 20. This Court holds that there was no search and seizure violation under the facts of this case. The first two warrantless searches were conducted with informed consent, the third search was conducted pursuant to a valid warrant, and evidence obtained therefrom is admissible.