Opinion ID: 365589
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Bernardina Lizarraga

Text: 18 Bernardina first attacks the sufficiency of the search warrant, raising many of the same arguments raised by Alonso. These arguments are discussed fully above. Additionally, Bernardina objects to the execution of the warrant, arguing that the state officers involved failed to comply with the applicable knock-notice rules. 19 Before reaching Bernardina's substantive knock-notice argument, we are presented with the question whether state or federal standards or both apply to this issue. Initially we conclude, contrary to the assertion of the government, that the federal knock-notice statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3109, is not applicable of its own force, because it is addressed to entries involving federal officers, See Sabbath v. United States, 391 U.S. 585, 588, 88 S.Ct. 1755, 20 L.Ed.2d 828 (1968); United States v. Bradley, 455 F.2d 1181, 1185 & n.8 (1st Cir. 1972), Aff'd on other grounds, 410 U.S. 605, 93 S.Ct. 1151, 35 L.Ed.2d 528 (1973), and the warrant here was executed by state officers only. The federal question before us is, therefore, whether the officers' conduct was reasonable within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. As we have recognized in light of Ker v. California, 374 U.S. 23, 83 S.Ct. 1623, 10 L.Ed.2d 726 (1963), 2 (i)t is now clear that, to some extent, (the knock-notice requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 3109) have been incorporated into the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Bustamante-Gamez, 488 F.2d 4, 9 (9th Cir. 1973), Cert. denied, 416 U.S. 970, 94 S.Ct. 1993, 40 L.Ed.2d 559 (1974). We need not reach the question whether meeting the federal standard alone is sufficient, because we conclude that the warrant was properly executed whether tested under the state or federal statutes, 3 or under general reasonableness standards. 20 Bernardina objects to the entry at the front door of the residence, arguing that the officers were not refused entry as required by the state or federal statutes. Apparently the officers knocked on the partially open door, and when Bernardina looked out through the glass in the door, they displayed a badge and two or three times demanded entry to permit execution of the warrant. Bernardina pushed on the door to close it and retreated. After calling to her, the officers knocked hard on the door and entered. Bernardina argues that she merely intended to delay opening the door until she could collect her children, dry her hands of dishwater, and find someone who spoke English to deal with the officers. 21 While we do not discredit Bernardina's explanation of her conduct, in the present inquiry we must look not to her explanation but rather to what the officers might reasonably have believed from the circumstances as apparent To them. See McClure v. United States, 332 F.2d 19, 22 (9th Cir. 1964), Cert. denied, 380 U.S. 945, 85 S.Ct. 1027, 13 L.Ed.2d 963 (1965); People v. Schad, 21 Cal.App.3d 201, 207-08, 98 Cal.Rptr. 439, 442-43 (1971). Further, we have observed that refusal of admittance will rarely be affirmative, but will oftentimes be present only by implication. . . . There are no set rules as to the time an officer must wait before using force to enter a house; the answer will depend on the circumstances of each case. McClure v. United States, supra, 332 F.2d at 22 (footnote omitted). We find here that the officers could reasonably have believed from Bernardina's conduct that permission to enter had implicitly been denied. Thus, this entry complied with either the state or federal statute, and was not unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. 22 Bernardina next questions the sufficiency of the evidence to convict her of both conspiracy and substantive Count VIII. By the government's own argument, only two items of evidence support her conviction of the substantive count of possession of heroin. First, she apparently lived with her husband on the premises where the heroin was found. We have explained that 23 (p)roof of exclusive control or dominion over property on which contraband narcotics are found is a strong circumstance tending to prove knowledge of the presence of such narcotics and (the) control thereof (requisite to a finding of possession). . . . On the other hand, mere proximity to the drug, mere presence on the property where it is located, or mere association, without more, with the person who does control the drug or the property on which it is found, is insufficient to support a finding of possession. 24 Arellanes v. United States, 302 F.2d 603, 606 (9th Cir.), Cert. denied, 371 U.S. 930, 83 S.Ct. 294, 9 L.Ed.2d 238 (1962) (footnotes omitted). In the present case, particularly in light of the evidence directly linking Alonso to at least some of the heroin (E. g., his name on the bag of heroin hidden in the garage), Bernardina's mere joint occupancy of the house is at best equivocal, and is not alone sufficient to support her conviction of possession. See id. at 606 (government's argument for conviction, that  'Where the narcotics were, there also was Geneva Arellanes,'  rejected because the presence of the narcotics is also exactly coincidental with the presence of her husband, and Mrs. Arellanes' presence with both is as fully explained by her attachment to her husband as it might be by a control over the drugs.). See also Delgado v. United States, 327 F.2d 641 (9th Cir. 1964) (where marijuana was discovered in shared bedroom, convictions were reversed for failure to establish possession by each or either occupant). 25 The second item of evidence relied upon by the government is the fact that Bernardina attempted to push the door shut when the officers came to execute the warrant. This, it is argued, shows guilty knowledge. Again, however, this evidence is highly equivocal, because after pushing the door Bernardina apparently retreated to where her young children were. This evidence adds nothing to Bernardina's mere joint occupancy of the house, and thus we find the evidence on Count VIII insufficient. 26 As to the conspiracy count, little if any evidence relating to Bernardina seems to go beyond tying her to the substantive offense. This too is insufficient. 27 THE CONVICTIONS OF MANUEL VALENZUELA, MARY ELIZABETH CORLEY, AND ALONSO LIZARRAGA ARE AFFIRMED; THE CONVICTIONS OF BERNARDINA LIZARRAGA ARE REVERSED.