Opinion ID: 1589788
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to Suppress Evidence Resulting from the Seizure

Text: ¶ 42. Goff contends that the traffic stop which led to his arrest constituted an illegal seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and therefore, all evidence collected therefrom should have been suppressed by the trial court. In particular, Goff claims that the stop of his vehicle by Trooper Ginn was improper, that the length of his detention was unreasonable, and that the consent to search was invalid.
¶ 43. Goff, through counsel, submitted numerous pretrial motions, including a motion to suppress all evidence retrieved from Goff's vehicle. At the conclusion of the evidentiary hearing, the trial judge denied Goff's motion, finding that all evidence generated as a result of the traffic stop was admissible. At trial, Goff did not renew his objection to the admission of any evidence taken from his vehicle. ¶ 44. The State responds that this challenge is procedurally barred due to Goff's failure to challenge the admissibility of the evidence when offered at trial. [16] ¶ 45. While Goff did not object to the admission of any evidence taken from his vehicle at trial, we find that the pretrial proceedings were sufficient to preserve the issue for appeal. ¶ 46. This Court has held that a defendant's motion in limine regarding the introduction of evidence properly preserved the issue for appeal, and an objection was not necessary. Kettle v. State, 641 So.2d 746, 748 (Miss.1994). While it would have been preferable, and by far the safer practice for Kettle to have renewed his objection, we find the error in this case was sufficiently preserved by language of the motion in limine, which the court overruled.... Id. The Kettle opinion then quoted with approval the explanation of the rule given by the Colorado Supreme Court in Uptain v. Huntington Lab., Inc.: Presentation of issues by means of motions in limine offers opportunities to expedite trials, eliminate bench conferences, avoid juror annoyance and permit more accurate rulings.... When, as here, a specific evidentiary issue is presented to the trial court in advance of trial, the primary purposes of the contemporaneous objection rule  to permit the trial court to accurately evaluate the legal issues and to enable the appellate court to apprehend the basis of the objection  are satisfied. Requiring an additional formal objection and ruling in all cases would undermine the benefits provided by the motion in limine procedure. We conclude that under the circumstances of this case, where the issue of the admissibility of the specific evidence was fully argued at the trial court on the same grounds argued by the non-prevailing party on appeal, the plaintiff's motion in limine constituted a timely objection.... Id. (quoting Uptain, 723 P.2d 1322, 1330-31 (Colo.1986)); see also Lacy v. State, 700 So.2d 602, 606 (Miss.1997).
¶ 47. The standard of review for the suppression of evidence is abuse of discretion. Chamberlin v. State, 989 So.2d 320, 336 (Miss.2008) (citing Miss. Transp. Comm'n v. McLemore, 863 So.2d 31, 34 (Miss.2003)). ¶ 48. A traffic stop may constitute a seizure under the Fourth Amendment when a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave. United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 554, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 (1980). An automobile stop is ... subject to the constitutional imperative that it not be `unreasonable' under the circumstances. As a general matter, the decision to stop an automobile is reasonable where the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred. Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 810, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996) (citing Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 659, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979); Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106, 109, 98 S.Ct. 330, 54 L.Ed.2d 331 (1977)). The constitutional reasonableness of a traffic stop does not depend on the actual motivations of the individual officers involved. Whren, 517 U.S. at 813, 116 S.Ct. 1769. ¶ 49. The United States Supreme Court has held that the question whether a consent to a search was in fact `voluntary' or was the product of duress or coercion, express or implied, is a question of fact to be determined from the totality of all the circumstances. Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 227, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973). This Court adopted that federal standard. Jackson v. State, 418 So.2d 827, 830 (Miss.1982). As a consequence of adopting the voluntariness test for consent searches, the [United States Supreme] Court concluded that `while the subject's knowledge of a right to refuse is a factor to be taken into account, the prosecution is not required to demonstrate such knowledge as a prerequisite to establishing a voluntary consent.' That is, consent may be established without a showing that the police warned the consenting party of his Fourth Amendment rights or that he was otherwise aware of those rights. Jones v. State ex rel. Miss. Dep't of Pub. Safety, 607 So.2d 23, 27 (Miss.1991) (quoting Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 249, 93 S.Ct. 2041); see also Logan v. State, 773 So.2d 338, 343 (Miss.2000); Graves v. State, 708 So.2d 858, 863-64 (Miss.1997). [17] ¶ 50. At the suppression hearing in the case sub judice, Trooper Ginn testified that while on patrol on August 27, 2004, he had observed a vehicle traveling westbound on Interstate 20 in Warren County, Mississippi. According to Trooper Ginn, after noticing that the vehicle had a temporary tag, which appeared to have been altered and which was expired, he had initiated the stop. ¶ 51. A routine traffic stop for an expired tag led to other findings which justified further inquiry. Such findings included the red marks on Goff's neck, the appearance of the vehicle's interior, the smell of gasoline, and the unusual responses provided by Goff. [18] Goff told Trooper Ginn that he did not work and that he was on a spiritual experience. ¶ 52. Trooper Ginn asked Goff if he had any drugs, weapons, or stolen merchandise in the vehicle. Goff responded that he did not. Trooper Ginn then proceeded to request, and receive, consent to search Goff's vehicle. [19] The totality of the search of Goff's vehicle by Trooper Ginn consisted of opening a carton of cigarettes as well as searching the center console of the vehicle, wherein three bank-rolls of fifty-dollar bills were found. The search ended after the rolls of money were found, because Trooper Henley had to leave the scene to respond to another incident. Trooper Ginn testified that he then removed the money and handed it to Goff. ¶ 53. Thereafter, Trooper Ginn was informed by the George County Sheriff's Office that Goff was a person of interest in the murder of Brandy. Goff was arrested, and Troop Ginn secured his vehicle. Trooper Ginn's involvement ended when George County officials arrived and took custody of Goff and the vehicle. [20] ¶ 54. At the conclusion of the suppression hearing, the trial judge determined that Trooper Ginn had initiated the traffic stop properly going on to conclude that the detention was reasonable under the circumstances. ¶ 55. The trial court found that the stop of Goff's vehicle was proper, that the length of the detention was reasonable, and that the consent to search was valid. See Whren, 517 U.S. at 810, 116 S.Ct. 1769 (citing Prouse, 440 U.S. at 659, 99 S.Ct. 1391) ([a]s a general matter, the decision to stop an automobile is reasonable where the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred); Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 227, 93 S.Ct. 2041 (the question whether a consent to a search was in fact `voluntary' ... is a question of fact to be determined from the totality of all the circumstances). The trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the evidence in question, and this argument is without merit.