Opinion ID: 1866213
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Arrest of Staten.

Text: Staten claims that the search of her person was unreasonable and, therefore, a violation of U.S. Const. amend. IV and Neb. Const. art. I, § 7. Although Staten neither questions the factual basis for the police stopping at the airport nor asserts that any constitutional right was violated by her detention at the airport, nevertheless, we note that, under Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), police can constitutionally stop and briefly detain a person for investigative purposes if the police have a reasonable suspicion, supported by articulable facts, that criminal activity exists, even if probable cause is lacking under the fourth amendment. See, also, State v. Thomte, 226 Neb. 659, 413 N.W.2d 916 (1987). Reasonable suspicion entails some minimal level of objective justification for detention, something more than an inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or hunch, but less than the level of suspicion required for probable cause. United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 109 S.Ct. 1581, 104 L.Ed.2d 1 (1989). The U.S. Supreme Court has held that persons whose appearance and activities fit the so-called drug courier profile may be briefly detained by law enforcement officers under Terry v. Ohio . See, United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 103 S.Ct. 2637, 77 L.Ed.2d 110 (1983); Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983), United States v. Sokolow, supra . The drug courier profile is a compilation of characteristics found to be typical for persons transporting illegal drugs, such as trips to and from cities which are major sources of drugs, with short stays in the cities; cash payment for tickets; use of aliases; unchecked luggage and little or no identification on luggage; attire; and nervousness. See United States v. Sokolow, supra . In Florida v. Royer, supra , the U.S. Supreme Court held that police had no probable cause to arrest the defendant based upon the facts that he was traveling from Miami to New York City under an assumed name; that he was carrying two suitcases that appeared to be heavy; that he was young, was casually dressed, and appeared to be pale and nervous; and that he had paid for his ticket in cash with a large number of bills. The fact that defendant fit the so-called drug courier profile constituted adequate grounds for suspecting the defendant of carrying drugs and justified an investigatory stop by police officers. Id. However, because the police took the defendant to a small room for further interrogation, retrieved his checked luggage from the airline, took his airplane ticket and identification, and never informed defendant that he was free to leave at any time nor that he need not consent to the search of his luggage, the Supreme Court held that the investigatory stop exceeded the constitutional limitation of a Terry stop. See Terry v. Ohio, supra . The Royer Court found that the means employed by the police officers were too intrusive in relation to an investigative detention and that restraint of the defendant was unjustified, and then concluded that there were less intrusive means which the officers could have employed, while noting: The courts are not strangers to the use of trained dogs to detect the presence of controlled substances in luggage. There is no indication here that this means was not feasible and available. If it had been used, Royer and his luggage could have been momentarily detained while this investigative procedure was carried out. Indeed, it may be that no detention at all would have been necessary. A negative result would have freed [the defendant] in short order; a positive result would have resulted in his justifiable arrest on probable cause. 460 U.S. at 505-06, 103 S.Ct. at 1328-29. The use of a specially trained dog to detect the presence of a controlled substance inside a container, such as luggage, has been held to be a feasible and expeditious way to detain a suspect for the shortest period of time in which to confirm or dispel suspicions. See Florida v. Royer, supra . See, also, United States v. Place, supra (canine sniff discloses only the presence or absence of narcotics, and such limited disclosure ensures against the embarrassment and inconvenience of the owner that is possible with other, more intrusive means of investigation). This conclusion is based on the fact that dogs trained especially for the purpose of detecting a controlled substance can detect the presence of concealed narcotics with almost unerring accuracy. As expressed in State v. Blakely, 227 Neb. 816, 821, 420 N.W.2d 300, 304 (1988): A valid search as an incident to an arrest without a warrant necessarily depends on the legality of the arrest itself.. . . ... [T]he constitutional issue regarding a reasonable search, as an incident of a felony arrest without a warrant, depends on the presence or absence of probable cause for that arrest, that is, whether immediately before the search an officer has probable cause to believe that the person to be searched has committed a felony. When a law enforcement officer has knowledge, based on information reasonably trustworthy under the circumstances, which justifies a prudent belief that a suspect is committing or has committed a crime, the officer has probable cause to arrest without a warrant. Several courts have held that an alert by a trained drug detection dog constitutes probable cause for arrest. See, People v. Unruh, 713 P.2d 370 (Colo. 1986); People v. Price, 54 N.Y.2d 557, 431 N.E.2d 267, 446 N.Y.S.2d 906 (1981); People v. Campbell, 67 Ill.2d 308, 10 Ill.Dec. 340, 367 N.E.2d 949 (1977); Morrow v. State, 757 S.W.2d 484 (Tex.App. 1988) (even in the absence of consent to search, a drug detection dog's alert to the presence of narcotics in defendant's luggage would have justified the arrest of appellant); Pooley v. State, 705 P.2d 1293 (Alaska App.1985); State v. Bullock, 460 So.2d 517 (Fla.App. 1984). See, also, U.S. v. Massac, 867 F.2d 174 (3d Cir.1989); U.S. v. Stone, 866 F.2d 359 (10th Cir.1989); Garmon v. Foust, 741 F.2d 1069 (8th Cir.1984); United States v. Spetz, 721 F.2d 1457 (9th Cir.1983); United States v. Robinson, 707 F.2d 811 (4th Cir.1983); United States v. Waltzer, 682 F.2d 370 (2d Cir.1982); United States v. Klein, 626 F.2d 22 (7th Cir.1980); United States v. Race, 529 F.2d 12 (1st Cir.1976). In view of the officers' information about Staten and from all the circumstances at the airport, including Bush's alert and positive reaction to Staten's luggage, the police had probable cause to arrest Staten at the airport. Consequently, Staten's arrest withstands constitutional challenge.