Opinion ID: 2301253
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Our Case

Text: We commence our instant analysis by first considering what overt actions, if any, the police officer took to assist the bail bond persons and the implications of that action. We then consider whether the evidence supports that the bail bond persons' purpose at the inception, and throughout the search for the principal, was limited solely to the private purposes of the bond persons. [8] In the case sub judice, the actions of Officer Hook in relation to the bail bond agents and respondent was more akin to non-incidental and impliedly supportive conduct, as opposed to mere standby protection services. In conjunction with the inherent nature of the bail bond process, the extra actions of the officer under the specific circumstances here present, transformed the actions of the bail bond persons into State action subjecting the search to Fourth Amendment analysis. In the particular jurisdiction and police agency here involved, there existed an arrangement for stand by service for bail bond persons where the police agency would regularly furnish officers to accompany bail bond agents attempting to retake principals. The record does not reflect that this practice only existed in circumstances where the principal was a fugitive. [9] On the day in question, Officer Hook was contacted by another officer, and directed to a particular location to meet one of the bail bond persons. Upon his arrival at the location, the two bail bond persons were present and informed him that they wanted him to accompany them as they sought to retake a Michael Estep. Estep was described to the officer, but as far as we can discern from the record the officer was not aware of why retake was desired. As far as the officer knew no warrant was outstanding for Estep. The bail bond persons had no copies of any warrant in their possession. Officer Hook went with them to the residence where they had been informed that Estep might be present. It was not known to be Estep's residence, and in fact, was not. Upon arriving at the residence, Officer Hook became more than stand by security. It was Officer Hook, and not the bail bond persons who knocked on the door. It was Officer Hook, not the bail bond persons, who was immediately at the door when Collins responded to the knock. At that point, any reasonable person would have believed that Officer Hook, and the persons with him, were involved in State action. When Collins opened the door, it was Officer Hook, not the bail bond persons, who Asked [Collins] if we [the officer and the bail bond persons] could check the residence for a wanted subject.... [10] (Emphasis added.) The record does not reflect that Officer Hook at that time informed Collins that the persons with the officer were not police officers but instead were private citizens, nor does the record reflect that the officer informed Collins that he was not present on State business but was, in effect, merely assisting private persons by standing by for security purposes. The officer also did not advise Collins in respect to the bail bond persons' private rights, if any, to force entry into the residence of one other than the person they were seeking to retake. Neither does the record reflect that the bail bond persons advised Collins that they were there on private, not State, business. At this point, a reasonable person would have perceived that State action was involved. Collins responded to the officer's question by denying entry to the apartment, and telling the officer that the person being sought was not in the apartment (Estep was not in the apartment). At that point, the bail bond persons, without, as far as we can discern from the record, informing Collins that they were not State actors, told Collins that they were going into the apartment in spite of his refusal to consent to their entry. Collins still declined to consent to their entry. At this point, a reasonable person, with a police officer present assisting the speaker, would likely believe that state agents were informing Collins they were going to force entry. One of the bail bond persons then asked Collins if anyone else was within the premises. Collins then called into the apartment and another subject came out. It was not Estep. That person then told one of the bail bond persons she could enter the apartment to look for Estep. Whether Collins, at this time, agreed to her entry is not clear from the record. The record does not reflect that, even at this point, the officer informed the occupants of the apartment that it was private, not State action that was in process. Collins, Officer Hook, and apparently the other bail bond person remained outside the opened door as the other occupant and a bail bond person went into the apartment. At this point, the officer testified that he smelled the odor of burnt marijuana. According to the officer, the odor became stronger the longer the door stayed open. Still, at this time the officer took no action and did not call for backup. When the bail bond person came out of the apartment, she informed Officer Hook, in Collins's presence, that she had seen approximately fifteen marijuana plants of various sizes growing inside the apartment. At this point, Collins reentered the apartment telling his dog to watch the officer and the two bail bond persons. Collins then closed the door leaving the officer and his companions on the porch with the dog. Even at this late time in the process, Collins was not informed that what had occurred was private action. At this point, while watched by the dog, Officer Hook radioed for other officers to join him, the bail bond persons, and the dog. After two other officers arrived, one of the bail bond persons informed Officer Hook that she was observing Collins running down an alley with a black plastic bag over his shoulder. At this point, the bail bond persons had utilized the services of the officer to knock on the door, and to inform Collins that they desired to enter to search for a wanted person; yet neither the officer nor the bail bond persons had informed Collins of the private nature of the request and the officer included the bail bond person in his generic use of the word we when seeking entry. A bail bond person had then entered and when she exited had informed the officer of the collateral things she had observed in the apartment. At that point, the officer claimed to have smelled marijuana while standing near the door that had been opened upon his knocking. The bail bond persons had also informed the officer that Collins was running down the alley. Upon receiving this last information, Officer Hook, through his own observations, saw Collins running down the alley. The group on the porch then proceeded down the alley. The group included the dog, who expanded the services he was performing for his master beyond merely watching the officers, to impeding their progress down the alley. We are not informed of the physical characteristics of the dog. We make the inference that, regardless of his size and disposition, he (or, perhaps, she) was aiding and assisting its master, as is the wont of man's best friend. [11] Ultimately, the police officers convinced Collins to relieve the dog of his most recently conferred duties. Collins then tied the dog's leash to the bumper of a car, and Collins was arrested. The contraband in the bag formed the basis for the charges against him. It is clear to this Court, as it was to the Court of Special Appeals, that the actions of the officer and the bail bond persons in the present case were, from the beginning and almost to the point of arrest, so intertwined with each other, that the entire action from its inception took on the characteristics of State action. In sum, what occurred was, under the circumstances of this case State action and should have undergone a complete Fourth Amendment analysis, including a determination as to whether there was a valid consent to search. We need not, in this opinion, go into the case law pertaining to Fourth Amendment exceptions or if consent by Jimmy, the second person in the apartment, constituted a valid exception. The question presented to this Court on appeal covers only the bail bond agents and their role as State actors. As held by the Court of Special Appeals, it remains up to the Circuit Court on remand to determine the validity of the consent. JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS AFFIRMED; COSTS TO BE PAID BY PETITIONER.