Opinion ID: 431031
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Consent Search

Text: 25 In the alternative, the Government argues that even if the initial stop was not justified, and even if there was no probable cause to search, whatever searches that occurred were consensual. In support of this argument, the Government points to two separate incidents in which they claim that the defendant gave the agents consent to search the automobile. First, the Government contends that the defendant consented to a search of the trunk of the car at the scene of the arrest by disclaiming any ownership interest in the automobile or its contents. Second, the Government notes that at the station, defendant signed a consent form after being given Miranda warnings and after being advised of his right to refuse to sign the consent form. The district court accepted the latter argument. In its order denying defendant's motion to suppress, the court held that [a]lternatively, ... the consent to search signed by Defendant was voluntarily given, and that such consent vitiates the allegedly illegal stop. 26 We find the district court's conclusion with regard to consent incorrect as a matter of law. We do not dispute the fact that defendant actually signed the consent form, or even that he did so voluntarily. Further, we accept the well-established rule that a search conducted pursuant to consent is excepted from requirements of probable cause and warrant. United States v. Baldwin, 644 F.2d 381, 383 (5th Cir.1981). There is no authority, however, which justifies an earlier illegal search based upon a later consent to an additional search. 27 A search is conducted when the state makes an invasion into a place in which one has reasonable expectation of privacy. Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 361, 88 S.Ct. 507, 516, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967). (Harlan concurring). In the present case, defendant's reasonable expectation of privacy was violated on the highway when the agents sprung the trunk and first smelled marihuana. The fact that the agents did not continue their exploration at this point does not make their actions any less a search. Since for all practical purposes, the search was conducted on the highway, the consent form which defendant signed at the station simply came too late. 28 We also reject the Government's contention that defendant consented to the search while he was still on the highway. In making this argument, the Government relies on the district court's finding that the defendant disavowed any personal interest in the trunk's contents at that time. In its order denying defendant's motion to suppress, the court described the highway scene in its findings as follows: 29 The agent shined his flashlight into the hole and saw burlap. When asked to open the trunk, the Defendant said he had no objection, but that it was not his car and he did not have the keys at that time. The agent then unsuccessfully attempted to pry open the trunk, and in so doing, smelled the pungent odor of marijuana. (Emphasis added). 30 At the suppression hearing, Agent Horger described the scene somewhat differently. Horger testified that: 31 At this point I asked the driver, the defendant, if he would open the trunk to the car and he stated that he didn't have the key to the trunk. And I asked him where the key was, and he said he didn't know, it wasn't his car. And so at this point we got a tire tool out of our car and lifted up the trunk a little bit... (Emphasis added) 32 On cross-examination, Agent Horger gave more details about his conversation on the highway with defendant. Horger testified that although defendant stated that he was not the actual owner of the car, he also told Horger that he had borrowed the car from a friend and that he had been in possession of the car for a week. 33 Based on Agent Horger's testimony, we conclude that the district court's factual findings with respect to the defendant's statements at the scene of the search were clearly erroneous. The record is devoid of evidence indicating that the defendant said he had no objection to the search, as the district court found. Instead, the defendant expressed a possessory interest in the car 7 and merely indicated that he could not open the trunk because he did not have a key. 34 When attempting to prove voluntary consent to search following an illegal stop, the Government has a much heavier burden to satisfy than when proving consent to search after a legitimate initial stop. United States v. Ballard, 573 F.2d 913, 916 (5th Cir.1978). In addition to proving valid and voluntary consent to search, the Government must also establish the existence of intervening factors which prove that the consent was sufficiently attenuated from the illegal stop. Bretti v. Wainwright, 439 F.2d 1042, 1045 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 943, 92 S.Ct. 293, 30 L.Ed.2d 257 (1971). Unlike the formal consent signed by defendant at the station, the vague conversation carried on between the defendant and the agents at the scene of the search does not satisfy this burden. 35 In summary, we find lack of sufficient cause to stop the vehicle which Melendez was driving and lack of cause and lack of consent to prying the trunk of the vehicle partially open. The conviction for possession of marihuana with intent to distribute must be reversed. 36 REVERSED.