Opinion ID: 2973034
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Detention After Initial Stop

Text: Having concluded that the police had probable cause to stop Davis for a traffic violation, we must then ask whether it was constitutionally permissible for the police to detain Davis after a warning had been issued and the purpose of the traffic stop had been accomplished. Probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred is unlike probable cause to believe that a criminal violation has occurred and thus does not allow the police to detain a suspect indefinitely. See Knowles v. Iowa, 525 U.S. 113, 116-18 (1998) (discussing the constitutional limitations of a traffic stop). “We have held that [a]n ordinary traffic stop . . . is more akin to an investigative detention rather than a custodial arrest, and the principles announced in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), apply to define the scope of reasonable police conduct.” United States v. Bailey, 302 F.3d 652, 657 (6th Cir. 2002) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Thus, “any subsequent detention after the initial stop must not be excessively intrusive in that the officer’s actions must be reasonably related in scope to circumstances justifying the initial interference.” United States v. Hill, 195 F.3d 258, 264 (6th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1176 (2000). Once the purpose of the initial traffic stop is completed, an officer cannot further detain the vehicle or its occupants unless something happened during the stop to cause the officer to have a “reasonable and articulable suspicion that criminal activity [is] afoot.” Id.; see also Bailey, 302 F.3d at 657-58; United States v. Erwin, 155 F.3d 818, 823 (6th Cir. 1998) (en banc), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1123 (1999). Terry, a limited exception to the normal requirements of probable cause, permits a police officer briefly to detain a person or property for investigative purposes if the officer has a reasonable suspicion, supported by articulable facts, that criminal activity has occurred or is about to occur. Farm Labor Org. Comm. v. Ohio State Highway Patrol, 308 F.3d 523, 543-44 (6th Cir. 2002). In evaluating the constitutionality of a Terry stop, we engage in a two-part analysis of the reasonableness of the stop. We first ask “whether there was a proper basis for the stop, which is judged by examining whether the law enforcement officials were aware of specific and articulable facts which gave rise to reasonable suspicion.” United States v. Garza, 10 F.3d 1241, 1245 (6th Cir. 1993) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). In answering this question, we examine the totality of the circumstances to determine the reasonableness of the investigatory stop. Bailey, 302 F.3d at 658 (citing United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266 (2002)). Next, if we conclude that the basis for the Terry stop was proper, then we must determine “whether the degree of intrusion . . . was reasonably related in scope to the situation at hand, which is judged by examining the reasonableness of the officials’ conduct given their suspicions and the surrounding circumstances.” Garza, 10 F.3d at 1245 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). As part of the second prong, we must “ascertain whether the detention is reasonable, that is, (1) was it sufficiently limited in time, and (2) were the investigative means used the least intrusive means reasonably available.” Bennett v. City of Eastpointe, 410 F.3d 810, 825-26 (6th Cir. 2005) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). For while a Terry stop may be constitutionally permissible initially, it may become an impermissible “seizure if it occurs over an unreasonable period of time or under unreasonable circumstances.” United States v. Orsolini, 300 F.3d 724, 729-30 (6th Cir. 2002) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see also United States v. Heath, 259 F.3d 522, 530 (6th Cir. 2001) (citing United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 709 (1983)) (noting that “the Supreme Court has held that the passage of time can cause an investigative detention to ripen into a defective seizure that must be based upon probable cause”). Simply put, “an investigative detention must be temporary and last no longer than is necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop.” Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 500 (1983). While there is “no rigid time limitation on the lawfulness of a Terry stop” (citation and internal quotation marks omitted), we must “‘examine whether the police diligently pursued a means of investigation that was likely to confirm or dispel their suspicions quickly, during which time it was necessary to detain the defendant.’” Orsolini, 300 F.3d at 730 (quoting United States v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675, 687 (1985)). Nos. 03-1451/1621 United States v. Davis, et al. Page 7 Davis concedes, and we agree, that the police had reasonable suspicion to detain Davis for the additional approximately thirty to forty-five minutes it took for the police to bring the first drugsniffing dog to the scene and have the dog check the vehicle for the presence of narcotics. At the time that Davis was stopped for speeding, it was reasonable for the police to suspect, based on articulable facts, that Davis’s vehicle contained narcotics. Shortly before the stop, the police had observed Davis meeting with Presley, whom Cook County investigators suspected was a drug dealer. Past experience indicated to the investigators that individuals who met with Presley were likely to be in possession of large amounts of narcotics. In the several months before the stop of Davis’s vehicle, law enforcement agents stopped four individuals on three separate occasions after the individuals met with Presley. Each time such a detention occurred, Cook County investigators discovered large amounts of cocaine in the individual’s possession. During Davis’s meeting with Presley, Cook County investigators observed economy-size laundry detergent boxes near the Range Rover. While it was unclear prior to the search of the Range Rover what happened to the detergent boxes after Presley and Davis parted company, the investigators had reason to suspect that the detergent boxes were related to narcotics dealings. Only a few months earlier, Cook County investigators had searched a building connected with Presley and discovered numerous items used in repackaging narcotics, including several economy-size laundry detergent boxes. Finally, Cook County investigators had been investigating Presley and others connected with him because they believed that Presley was involved with a narcotics ring that transported drugs between Chicago and Detroit. At Davis’s meeting with Presley, the investigators observed that the Range Rover had a Michigan license plate. Furthermore, the investigators followed Davis as he drove east on Interstate 94 out of Illinois, into Indiana, and in the direction of Michigan. Davis’s license plate and his direction of travel suggested to the investigators that he might have some involvement in transporting narcotics from Chicago to Detroit. Examining the totality of the circumstances known to the investigators at the time of Davis’s initial detention, the investigators had sufficient reason to suspect that Davis was transporting narcotics in his vehicle to justify an additional delay of Davis’s vehicle to allow further police investigation. The Cook County investigators requested that the Indiana State Troopers stop Davis for speeding, and the Indiana troopers had sufficient justification for their further investigation based on the information provided by the investigators. Having determined that there was at the outset sufficient reasonable suspicion for the Indiana troopers initially to detain Davis following the completion of the traffic stop, we must consider whether the seizure was sufficiently limited in time and whether the investigative means were “minimally intrusive.” United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 706 (1983). The use of the first drugsniffing dog was a minimally intrusive means of investigating whether the officers’ suspicions that Davis’s vehicle contained narcotics were valid. The use of the first drug-sniffing dog, by itself, did not encroach upon Davis’s reasonable expectation of privacy. See Illinois v. Caballes, 125 S. Ct. 834, 837-38 (2005) (noting that where the use of a drug-sniffing dog did not extend the length of a traffic stop, no Fourth Amendment concerns were implicated). There is also no evidence in the record that the additional approximately thirty-minute delay of Davis and his vehicle while the first drug-sniffing dog was located and procured was unreasonable in light of the officers’ reasonable suspicions. Thus, the use of a well-trained drug-sniffing dog that was brought to the scene within a reasonable period after the initial traffic stop was a permissible means of determining whether the police were correct to suspect that Davis was in possession of narcotics. Once the drug-sniffing dog was brought to the scene and failed to alert positively to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, the officers’ suspicions that Davis was in possession of narcotics were dispelled. Drug-sniffing dogs are highly trained to detect the presence of narcotics, and the dog Rocky did not detect any narcotics in the car. Office Craigin, Rocky’s handler, noted Nos. 03-1451/1621 United States v. Davis, et al. Page 8 during the suppression hearing that Rocky was a qualified, trained, and certified dog. Rocky had been in service as a drug-sniffing dog for approximately three years prior to Davis’s stop and underwent training on a continual basis. Officer Craigin testified that Rocky’s success rate at accurately identifying the presence of narcotics was over ninety percent. Based upon this information, there were no grounds for the police to continue to believe that the vehicle contained narcotics after Rocky failed to alert. We note that the partial dissent’s arguments regarding the effect of a dog’s failure to alert do not change this analysis. The partial dissent cites to several cases for the proposition that an investigatory dog’s failure to alert does not dispel probable cause. See, e.g., United States v. Jodoin, 672 F.2d 232, 236 (1st Cir. 1982) (“The dog’s failure to react does not, in our view, destroy the ‘probable cause’ that would otherwise exist. It is just another element to be considered by the magistrate.”). However, in the cases cited the courts determined that even without the dog’s alert there was probable cause to justify a more extended detention, whereas in this case there was only the more limited basis of reasonable suspicion. Given that the police had no reason to continue to suspect that Davis possessed narcotics, delaying Davis’s vehicle an additional hour in order to permit a second examination of the vehicle by another drug-sniffing dog was unreasonable. The use of the second dog and the continued detention of Davis’s vehicle served no investigatory purpose. See Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 685 (emphasizing “the need to consider the law enforcement purposes to be served by the stop as well as the time reasonably needed to effectuate those purposes”). The police already had confirmation from Rocky that no narcotics were in the vehicle. Thus, to delay Davis another hour in order to permit a second search of the vehicle simply delayed the release of Davis and his vehicle without any investigatory purpose. Such a delay is specifically prohibited by the Fourth Amendment. See Heath, 259 F.3d at 530 (indicating that once officers use “all appropriate means available to them to allay their concerns of criminal activity” they may not detain a suspect absent probable cause); United States v. Butler, 223 F.3d 368, 375 (6th Cir. 2000). We therefore must conclude that this additional delay was unreasonable and violated Davis’s Fourth Amendment rights. We have repeatedly held that a detention of property based upon reasonable suspicion may continue only for so long as it takes the officer to prove or disprove those suspicions. Thus, in Farm Labor, we found unreasonable and, therefore, unconstitutional the seizure of motorists’ green cards for four days where law enforcement agents suspected the green cards to be fraudulent. Farm Labor, 308 F.3d at 544-48. The district court concluded, and we agreed, that one day or less was needed for the officer to contact and receive verification from the INS as to the cards’ authenticity. Id. at 546-47. Therefore, the officers’ seizure of the green cards for an extra three days was impermissible under Terry. Id. Similarly, in Bennett, we held that the seizure of two bicycles was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Bennett, 410 F.3d at 825-26. In Bennett, the police suspected that2the two bicycles were stolen, and thus ran the bicycles’ serial numbers through the LEIN system. When the system indicated the bicycles had not been reported stolen, the police nonetheless decided to seize the bicycles. We held that, because seizure of the bicycles served no investigatory purpose once the police had determined the bicycles had not been reported stolen, the seizure was an unconstitutional Terry stop. Id. at 825-27. As in Farm Labor and Bennett, the additional hour detention of Davis’s vehicle served little, if any, investigatory purpose. In both cases the officers’ continued detention of the personal effects beyond the reasonable amount of time needed to conduct an investigation was held to be unacceptable. Just as the LEIN search in Bennett informed the officers that the bicycles were not stolen, Rocky’s sniff indicated there were no narcotics in the vehicle. Similarly, in this case the 2 The Michigan Law Enforcement Information Network (“LEIN”) is an electronic compilation of criminal justice information available for the use of specific authorized state officials and agencies. Nos. 03-1451/1621 United States v. Davis, et al. Page 9 officers’ continued detention of Davis’s vehicle solely for the purpose of obtaining another drugsniffing dog was unreasonable. To allow police to delay further a suspect for the purpose of obtaining another drug-sniffing dog, whether intentionally or as the result of miscommunication,3 where the first dog failed to alert positively gives law enforcement power that comes only with probable cause. The Fourth Amendment allows police to detain a suspect on reasonable suspicion only for as long as it takes for the police to test the validity of their suspicions. Reasonable suspicion, a limited exception to the probable-cause requirement, does not permit unlimited bites at the apple. Officers must act to confirm or dispel their suspicions quickly. While they may be disappointed when their chosen investigatory technique dispels their suspicions, the Fourth Amendment does not permit them to keep trying until they obtain the desired results. To hold otherwise would permit the Terry-stop exception to engulf the general Fourth Amendment prohibition against search and seizure absent probable cause. We thus hold that the officers’ detention of Davis’s vehicle for the purpose of obtaining a second drug-sniffing dog violated the Fourth Amendment. 3. Later Warrant Does not Cure Constitutional Defect Having determined that the seizure of Davis’s vehicle violated the Fourth Amendment, we must consider whether the evidence obtained from the vehicle following the seizure must be suppressed. Specifically, we must determine whether the officers’ procurement of a warrant prior to searching the vehicle cured any constitutional defect that occurred prior to the search. We hold that the search of Davis’s vehicle was tainted by the illegal seizure, and thus the search warrant was insufficient to overcome this constitutional defect. Having determined that the search warrant included illegally obtained information, in this case the second drug-sniffing dog’s positive alert, we must remove this fact from the affidavit when considering whether there is still sufficient information to establish probable cause to search the vehicle. See United States v. Bishop, 264 F.3d 919, 924 (9th Cir. 2001); United States v. Reilly, 76 F.3d 1271, 1282-83 n.2 (2d Cir. 1996). Moreover, we must also consider a material fact omitted from the affidavit by the affiant — the fact that the first drug-sniffing dog failed to alert to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. When the facts are then considered, it is clear that there was insufficient cause to support the issuance of the warrant. At the time the warrant was sought, the police had no knowledge of who Davis was or where he was going. The only information that the police had was that: (1) Davis had met earlier with an individual the police suspected of being a drug dealer; (2) there was reason to suspect that narcotics may have been involved in the meeting because of the observation of a large laundry detergent box at the meeting (although importantly police surveillance did not indicate what happened to the detergent box at the meeting’s conclusion); and (3) a drug-sniffing dog brought to the scene failed to alert positively to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. Examining these facts in their totality, there is insufficient information to establish probable cause for the issuance of a warrant to search Davis’s vehicle. All that a neutral and detached magistrate could glean from this evidence is that the police initially had reason to believe that Davis had narcotics but that this theory was proved false by the first drug-sniffing dog’s examination of the car. The search warrant was therefore insufficient to cure the illegal seizure of 3 There is a dispute in the record as to whether Agent Balbo was aware of the first dog sniff when he requested a second dog sniff of the vehicle. For Fourth Amendment purposes, Agent Balbo’s subjective knowledge at the time of the second dog sniff is immaterial. The material fact is that Davis was unreasonably delayed an additional hour with little, if any, investigative rationale. Nos. 03-1451/1621 United States v. Davis, et al. Page 10 Davis and his vehicle.4 We thus hold that the district court erred in failing to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of that search. 4. Admissibility of Other Searches Having determined that the search of Davis’s vehicle violated the Fourth Amendment, and therefore that the district court erred in denying Davis’s motion to suppress evidence seized during the search, we remand the case to the district court for a determination as to whether Davis’s conviction still stands. The district court must consider whether evidence seized during the other searches was the fruit of a poisonous tree, see Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 (1963), or whether there are exceptions to this exclusionary rule under which the evidence seized from Davis’s home and the storage locker is admissible. See Murray v. United States, 487 U.S. 533, 537 (1988) (explaining that under the independent-source rule, even if the police engage in illegal investigatory activity, evidence will be admissible if it was discovered through a source independent from the illegal police activity); Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431, 443-44 (1984) (noting that under the rule of inevitable discovery, the court may admit illegally obtained evidence if the evidence inevitably would have been discovered through independent, lawful means).