Opinion ID: 1733973
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: sinsel's motion to suppress

Text: Sinsel claims that the trial court erred in failing to sustain his motion to suppress evidence, the marijuana he was charged with possessing, because the officers illegally searched the stove he stored in the Minden landfill shop building. To resolve Sinsel's claim of an illegal search, it must first be determined whether Sinsel has standing to raise a U.S. Constitution Fourth Amendment challenge to the officers' search of the stove. The Fourth Amendment protects the right of a person to be secure in his or her person, house, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. Capacity to claim the protection of the Fourth Amendment depends upon whether the person who claims the protection of the amendment has a legitimate expectation of privacy in the invaded space. Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978); State v. Cortis, 237 Neb. 97, 465 N.W.2d 132 (1991). A subjective expectation of privacy is legitimate if it is ``one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable.'' State v. Cortis, 237 Neb. at 103, 465 N.W.2d at 138. The inquiry, then, is whether Sinsel had a legitimate subjective expectation of privacy in the stove. The record reflects that the unplugged and dusty stove was stored in the Minden landfill shop building amid numerous items ranging from a tire changer and bedding, to a tree stand, a Foosball machine, and a motorcycle, items that are likely to be found around a landfill site. Sinsel made no effort to mark any of the items stored in the building to indicate that any of them belonged to him. The only item that may have identified the owner was the motorcycle that carried some type of license plate. All the items were accessible to anyone who had a key to the building. In addition to Sinsel, this included Minden's city administrator and personnel of Minden's street department. This, together with the fact that he had not identified the stove as belonging to him, negates his claim that he had an expectation of privacy in the stove where the marijuana was found. Even more importantly, any legitimate expectation of privacy that Sinsel had in the stove was eliminated on October 21, when he, along with other city employees, was told that all city property would be searched for alcohol and anything else that shouldn't be stored there. Even with that warning, Sinsel did not mark the stove as being owned by him. Because Sinsel did not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the stove, he lacks standing to assert a Fourth Amendment challenge to the search of the stove by law enforcement officers. The trial court was not clearly wrong in overruling Sinsel's motion to suppress because the record clearly supports a finding that the search of the stove was lawful.