Opinion ID: 1057296
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Unpreserved Argument: Defendant's Consent to Backpack Search

Text: ¶ 10. We begin by addressing defendant's fourth argument, which was not particularly raised in defendant's presentation below in support of his own motion to suppress, and was only peripherally touched upon in connection with the passenger's suppression motion. Defendant now argues that the evidence taken from the backpack should have been suppressed against him because he could not give the trooper valid consent to search the passenger's backpack. Defendant contends that his consent to the vehicle search could not extend to his passenger's backpack because it did not belong to defendant and was not under his control. Additionally, defendant argues that the passenger never consented to the search, so the trooper's warrantless search of the backpack without the passenger's consent was invalid. ¶ 11. The district court relied on the above-described reasoning to grant the passenger's motion to suppress the evidence gathered from the backpack, but the court did not extend that rationale to defendant. Instead, the district court held that defendant consented to the search because he voluntarily signed the consent form. As recited earlier, the consent form included defendant's vehicle and its contents... under [his] control. Defendant never argued, and the court never addressed, the issue of whether the backpack was, or was not, under defendant's control, or whether defendant's consent did, or did not, extend to his passenger's backpack when it was contained within defendant's automobile. Defendant contends this was error because the reasoning supporting the court's decision to grant the passenger's suppression motion applies equally to him. ¶ 12. The State counters that defendant did not argue this point below and that it is not preserved on appeal. We note that defendant's position raises potentially intricate questions concerning the degree of control or dominion over the backpack, or the lack thereof, necessary for a consent by defendant to its search to be valid against him, if not against his passenger. Assuming the automatic standing claimed by defendant to argue the point, the point was not made before the trial court. ¶ 13. Arguments that are neither litigated nor decided below will not be addressed for the first time on appeal. State v. Sprague, 2003 VT 20, ¶ 11, 175 Vt. 123, 824 A.2d 539 (quotation omitted). The preservation rule exists so that the trial court can address any correctable errors before they are presented here, and develop an adequate record for any appeal. State v. Wool, 162 Vt. 342, 346, 648 A.2d 655, 658 (1994). Defendant's argument is unpreserved because his written submissions and his argument in support of suppression did not raise this particular issue in a manner requiring a ruling by the district court. See State v. Parker, 155 Vt. 650, 651, 583 A.2d 1275, 1276 (1990) (mem.) (requiring, for an issue to be preserved, that there be a lower court decision from which to appeal). The passenger challenged defendant's capacity to consent to a search of the backpack on the passenger's behalf, but did not challenge defendant's authority to consent to the search on defendant's behalf. [1] Further, in its ruling on the passenger's suppression motion, the trial court had no need to address whether defendant did or did not control the backpack in his car, or did or did not validly consent to its search vis-à-vis any interest defendant may or may not have had in its contents. Such issues, integral to whether defendant's rights were violated, were not presented to the trial court. ¶ 14. Defendant claims he did preserve the issue by joining in his passenger's suppression motion, which defendant characterizes as explicitly making the same argument below. Defendant is mistaken. Passenger's motion and memorandum before the district court contended, in a single sentence, that defendant could not consent to a warrantless search of passenger's backpack so as to permit the contraband into evidence against the passenger. Defendant's particular interest and rights in this transaction were not raised in passenger's pleadings. Nothing more was offered at the motion hearing concerning any violation of defendant's rights aside from his own claim that whatever consent he gave was coerced. Defendant's unadorned statement that he joined in the passenger's suppression motion based on arguments not dispositive of defendant's own rights was not enough to preserve his claim on appeal. Consequently, the district court had no chance to confront the issues that defendant now raises; therefore, defendant has no decision from which to appeal on this point. ¶ 15. Defendant's final reason that this Court should address his argument is that the automatic-standing doctrine we adopted in State v. Wright, 157 Vt. 653, 654, 596 A.2d 925, 926 (1991) (mem.), stands for the rule that, where possession is charged against multiple parties, if a search is illegal as against one party, then the search must be illegal as against all of the parties. Defendant argues that the trial court's decision is directly contrary to that doctrine and if we affirm here, we will overrule Wright. This argument was not raised below. Because the trial court did not have a chance to address the argument, we need not resolve the question now. Sprague, 2003 VT 20, ¶ 11, 175 Vt. 123, 824 A.2d 539.