Opinion ID: 1551187
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Suppression of Photograph

Text: The defendant argues that the photograph of his tattoo taken during the April 23, 2004 interview was taken in violation of Part I, Article 19 of the New Hampshire Constitution because it was seized by the police without a warrant and without his consent. We will assume, without deciding, that photographing the defendant's exposed tattoo constituted a seizure. A voluntary consent free of duress and coercion is a recognized exception to the need for both a warrant and probable cause. The burden is on the State to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the consent was free, knowing and voluntary. Voluntariness is a question of fact, based on the totality of the circumstances. We will disturb the trial court's finding of consent only if it is not supported by the record. State v. Watson, 151 N.H. 537, 540, 864 A.2d 1095 (2004) (citations omitted). The record supports the trial court's findings that the defendant verbally consented to an officer's request to take a photograph of the tattoo, and that he was aware that he was not required to consent to the photograph because, during the same interview, he refused to allow the police to take a DNA swab of his mouth. Further, as stated above, the April 23 interview was not a custodial interrogation. Accordingly, we conclude that the record supports the trial court's finding that the defendant's consent was voluntary. The defendant additionally argues that the photograph should have been excluded from evidence because its introduction resulted from an unnecessarily suggestive out-of-court procedure and because the victim failed to identify the tattoo. The out-of-court procedure to which the defendant refers occurred on April 27, 2004, when Stiegler showed the victim the photograph of the tattoo. Stiegler did not tell the victim where the picture was taken or to whom the tattoo belonged. Stiegler showed her the photograph by itself, instead of in an array of photographs. Upon seeing the photograph, the victim was unable to say with any certainty that the tattoo shown was the tattoo belonging to one of her assailants. The defendant and the State agree with the trial court's conclusion that she did not identify the tattoo in the photograph as belonging to her attacker. Accordingly, we need not undertake an analysis of whether the identification procedure was unnecessarily suggestive because no identification took place. What the defendant appeals is not a ruling on a motion to suppress an identification, but, rather, a ruling on the admissibility of the photograph. At trial, the State entered the photograph into evidence during direct examination of Kevin Butler, a detective in the Laconia Police Department, who observed the tattoo on the defendant's arm while processing his arrest. The defendant objected to the introduction of the photograph, stating only, We would maintain our position, Judge. This vague objection apparently reasserted the defendant's suppression arguments made prior to trial. Our interpretation of the defendant's objection is consistent with the argument made in his brief on appeal. We will uphold a trial court's decision to admit evidence absent an unsustainable exercise of discretion. To show that the trial court's decision is not sustainable, the defendant must demonstrate that the ruling was clearly untenable or unreasonable to the prejudice of his case. State v. Lavoie, 152 N.H. 542, 544, 880 A.2d 432 (2005) (citation omitted). Because the defendant does not contest the admissibility of the photograph for any reasons other than those addressed prior to trial in the suppression hearing, which are not relevant to the admissibility of the photograph through this witness, we conclude that he has failed to demonstrate that the trial court's ruling was clearly untenable or unreasonable to the prejudice of his case. Affirmed.