Opinion ID: 2979085
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Scope of the Consensual Search

Text: Defendant concedes that he voluntarily consented to a search of his car, and disputes only whether Hoppe exceeded the scope of that consent by searching the sealed containers of cat litter in which the drugs were found. A district court’s determination whether a search exceeded the scope of the consent is a question of fact, which we review for clear error. Garrido-Santana, 360 F.3d at 570. “The standard for measuring the scope of a suspect’s consent under the Fourth Amendment is that of ‘objective’ reasonableness—what would the typical reasonable person have understood by the exchange between the officer and the suspect?” Florida v. Jimeno, 500 U.S. 248, 251 (1991). The video evidence shows that after stopping on the exit ramp, Hoppe called the defendant over, asked him when he was going to get his license, and then asked if there was “anything of an illegal nature in the vehicle . . . any alcohol, guns, anything like that.” Defendant answered, “no.” Hoppe replied, “I want to look in it for ID and things like that, do you have a problem with that?” Defendant answered, “no.” Hoppe added the following: Okay, if I found—I’m not going to find no—you got no—you’re not a drug user, nothing like that—no alcohol, no guns . . . okay. What I want to look for, what I get a lot of times is people say they lost their IDs and they’re not who they say they are. And you may be that, and if you are we’re going to go on, if I don’t find any ID up there, okay, but I get a lot of people who say, “oh, my name’s Hector so and so,” and their real name is Bobby Lewis. You know, you don’t have any pictures on you and that’s a problem, okay, just take your hand out of your pocket. Do you mind if I search it for ID and stuff? Defendant argues that the only reasonable understanding of this exchange is that the consent was to a search for identification only—not contraband such as drugs, alcohol, or guns—and No. 08-5964 13 that the consent did not extend to the closed container of cat litter. In Garrido-Santana, this court held that by asking the defendant whether he possessed any illegal contraband such as drugs or stolen goods and then asking for consent to search the defendant’s car, the officer reasonably informed the defendant that such contraband was the object of any search. 360 F.3d at 576. The court then held that because the defendant consented to the search without explicit limitation on its scope, it was objectively reasonable for the officer to conclude that the defendant had consented to a search of the car for drugs or stolen goods and that the consent would extend to a search of any containers within the car that could reasonably be expected to hold such contraband. Id. Here, Hoppe asked the defendant if there was anything of an illegal nature such as drugs, alcohol, or guns in the car, which informed the defendant of the wide-ranging objects of the requested search. The defendant consented to the search of the car without expressly limiting the scope, and it was not clear error for the district court to conclude that a reasonable person would have understood this exchange to consent to a search of the car for identification, pictures, or items of an illegal nature such as drugs, alcohol, or guns.4 This brings us to the question of whether defendant’s consent to search extended to the closed cat litter containers taking up most of the trunk. The Supreme Court explained in Jimeno that, although one may delimit the scope of a search to which he consents, no explicit authorization is required to search a particular container “if his consent would reasonably be 4 The district court assumed that Hoppe was referring to pictures like illegal pornography, but pictures were not mentioned with the things of “an illegal nature.” It seems more likely that pictures would be relevant to establishing the defendant’s identity. No. 08-5964 14 understood to extend to a particular container.” Jimeno, 500 U.S. at 252. The Court in Jimeno held that because the officer told the suspect he believed there were narcotics in the car before asking for permission to search the car, and the suspect consented without placing any explicit limitation on the scope of the search, “it was objectively reasonable for the police to conclude that the general consent to search [the suspect’s] car included consent to search containers within that car which might bear drugs.” Id. at 251. Explaining that “[a] reasonable person may be expected to know that narcotics are generally carried in some form of a container” and are rarely “‘strewn across the trunk or floor of a car,’” the Court held that the consent to search extended to a closed paper bag lying on the floor of the car. Id. (citation omitted). In reaching this conclusion, the Court in Jimeno distinguished another case in which it was “held that consent to search the trunk of a car did not include authorization to pry open a locked briefcase found inside the trunk.” Id. Defendant relies on the Court’s further comment that: “It is very likely unreasonable to think that a suspect, by consenting to the search of his trunk, has agreed to the breaking open of a locked briefcase within the trunk, but it is otherwise with respect to a closed paper bag.” Id. at 251-52. In this case, defendant argues both that a reasonable person would not expect to find identification in a sealed container of cat litter, and that, as with a locked briefcase, one would not expect the general consent to search to extend to a “factory-sealed” container of cat litter. These questions need not be resolved in this case because, as the district court also found, Hoppe had probable cause to believe contraband would be found in the cat litter No. 08-5964 15 containers at the time they were opened and searched. As the stop developed, Hoppe learned that the defendant was driving across country without identification, to see about asbestos removal work without identification or certifications, presented month-to-month insurance purchased days before, and claimed to have taken the two large tubs of cat litter because there was not time to deliver it to defendant’s sister. Hoppe knew from experience that it was not uncommon for someone who claimed to have lost his license to be lying about his true identity, and defendant’s identity could not be confirmed. When Hoppe lifted the supposedly factory-sealed tubs of cat litter, he noted that they seemed heavier than the 35 pounds they were supposed to be and, more importantly, that one was heavier than the other. Also, one of the blue plastic seals was striated so as to suggest that it had been tampered with. At the time the first cat litter container was opened, Hoppe had probable cause to believe that contraband would be found inside. See California v. Acevedo, 500 U.S. 565, 580 (1991) (holding the Fourth Amendment does not preclude a warrantless search of a container in an automobile where there is probable cause to believe that it contains contraband). AFFIRMED.