Opinion ID: 3049086
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Consent by Frontline

Text: The panel holds incorrectly not only that Frontline could consent, but also that Frontline did consent. The panel states that “testimony makes clear that Ziegler’s superiors at Frontline, in particular Reavis, an officer of the company, gave consent to a search of the property that the company owned and which was not of a personal nature.” Ziegler, 474 F.3d at 1192. The panel states that its conclusion is warranted, even though company owner Kittler “objected (in some vague sense) to cooperation with the authorities.” Id. at 1192 n.10. There are two serious problems with the panel’s conclusion. First, the testimony emphatically does not “make clear” that Reavis, or anyone else at Frontline, “gave consent” to the search of Ziegler’s office. The panel can justify its conclusion only by providing an inaccurate and incomplete description of the testimony. Second, there is overwhelming evidence that Reavis did not have the authority to consent to the search on behalf of Frontline.
The two people most competent to testify whether Reavis gave consent to Kennedy, the FBI agent who directed the search of Ziegler’s office, were Reavis and Kennedy. Reavis had been subpoenaed by Ziegler and was in court and available to testify. But the government declined to put him on the stand. Kennedy did testify. He affirmatively stated that neither Softich nor Schneider consented to the search. He did not mention even the possibility that Reavis had consented. To understand the relevant testimony (reproduced below), the following context is helpful. Kennedy testified in the district 7488 UNITED STATES v. ZIEGLER court that Softich and Schneider had conducted the search of Ziegler’s office on their own initiative. Kennedy testified that after Softich and Schneider conducted the search and obtained copies of Ziegler’s hard drive as well as the hard drive itself, Kennedy discussed with Schneider the possibility of getting a warrant to force them to turn the copies and the hard drive over to him. Kennedy further testified that Freeman, Frontline’s attorney, later consented to hand over the copies and the hard drive without the necessity for a warrant. With that context in mind, here is Agent Kennedy’s testimony: Q [by Ziegler’s attorney]: [T]he only thing that Mr. Freeman agreed with you to do, and with the govern- ment, was that we would turn over to you the copies that had already been made, and the hard drive, and that’s all they consented to; isn’t that correct? A [by Agent Kennedy]: That’s exactly right. Q: They didn’t consent with you to have any searches done prior to the actual delivery of the computer to you, did they? A: I don’t know what you’re asking. Q: I mean, no one from Frontline consented to you directing Schneider or Softich to make a copy of a hard drive, did they? A: They did that on their own. A: No one consented, prior to you threatening Frontline with the issuance of a search warrant, that they were going to search Mr. Ziegler’s computer to tell you what was on it, did they? UNITED STATES v. ZIEGLER 7489 A: Counselor, I didn’t threaten anybody. At that point the district court interjected, saying: Well, I think he’s testified a number of times con- trary to your position. He said that he didn’t ask them to do a search, and they sure didn’t consent to having him. I don’t understand that question, but his position is he didn’t ask them to do a search. I know exactly what the positions are. (Emphasis added.) The district court’s statement indicates that it understood Kennedy to have said that neither Softich nor Schneider consented to the search. The statement may also (and in my view does also) indicate that the court affirmatively found, as a matter of fact, that they did not consent. But whether Kennedy merely testified that there was no consent, or the district court also affirmatively found that there was no consent, does not matter. The important point is that Kennedy’s testimony provides no support whatsoever for the panel’s conclusion that Reavis consented to the search. Schneider testified that after he told Reavis what he and Softich had been directed to do by Agent Kennedy, Reavis told Schneider that he was “okay” with them searching Ziegler’s office and taking the hard drive. However, Schneider did not testify that Reavis said anything to Kennedy before the search. This omission is crucial, for the question is whether Reavis gave consent to Kennedy for the search. Schneider’s testimony does not show that Reavis consented to the search before Kennedy directed Softich and Schneider to perform it. Schneider’s testimony shows only that Reavis acquiesced in Softich and Schneider’s planned action in response to Kennedy’s direction to them. See Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 548-49 (1968) (government’s burden to show consent “cannot be discharged by showing no more than acquiescence to a claim of lawful authority”); United States v. Bautista, 362 F.3d 584, 589, 591-92 (9th Cir. 7490 UNITED STATES v. ZIEGLER 2004) (stating “ ‘government’s burden to show voluntariness cannot be discharged by showing no more than acquiescence to a claim of lawful authority’ ” and concluding that under the circumstances there had been no consent to enter room for search when Bautista opened door to motel room in response to police officers’ direction to do so, stood there for a moment not responding, and then “invite[d] the officers into the room as she backed away from the door” (citation omitted)); see also MacKenzie v. Robbins, 248 F. Supp. 496, 501 (D. Me. 1965) (stating that “all of the cases” found by the court “have held that mere acquiescence in the entry to private living quarters by police officers acting under color of their office is insufficient to constitute the type of consent” required to validate a search) cited with approval in Bumper, 391 U.S. at 549 n. 13; United States v. Marra, 40 F.2d 271, 271 (W.D.N.Y. 1930) (holding that circumstances did not validate search based on consent when probation officers said they “were going to inspect the premises” and defendant replied, “All right”) cited with approval in Bumper, 391 U.S. at 549 n. 13. In sum, the government never argued — in the suppression hearing, in its brief on appeal to this court, or in its opposition to rehearing the first opinion en banc — that Reavis consented to the warrantless FBI-directed search of Ziegler’s office. Nor did the government put on any evidence that Reavis had given such consent. The government declined to put Reavis on the stand. It put Kennedy on the stand, but Kennedy testified that Softich and Schneider had not given consent and did not even hint that Reavis had given consent. See United States v. Shaibu, 920 F.2d 1423, 1426 (9th Cir. 1990) (as amended) (consent is “not lightly to be inferred, and the government always bears the burden of proof to establish the existence of effective consent”) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted); see also Illinois v. Rodriguez, 497 U.S. 177, 181 (1990) (stating that the government also bears the burden of establishing common authority to consent). UNITED STATES v. ZIEGLER 7491
Not only did the government fail to argue or put on evidence that Reavis consented to the search. There is also overwhelming evidence that Reavis had no authority to provide consent on behalf of Frontline. Everyone involved in the search knew that the Frontline’s owner, Kittler, never would consent — and never did consent — to an FBI search. Kittler worked at the same location with his employees and was readily available, but Kennedy, Softich, Schneider and Reavis deliberately chose not to involve him because they knew that he would object to any search. Agent Kennedy was aware from the beginning that Kittler would not consent to a search. Softich requested that his first meeting with Kennedy take place over the lunch hour “so as not to raise any questions at work.” Kennedy admitted that both Softich and Schneider “felt their jobs would be in jeopardy if Mr. Kittler knew they were cooperating with the FBI.” Kennedy also admitted to telling Softich and Schneider not to discuss the matter within the company. Kittler did not, as the panel states, merely “object[ ] (in some vague sense) to cooperation with the authorities.” Ziegler, 474 F.3d at 1192 n.10. Rather, Kittler objected strenuously, and then acted vengefully against those who had cooperated with Kennedy. Kittler responded to the search by relieving Schneider of his job duties because of his unhappiness with Schneider’s cooperation with the FBI. Miller, the receptionist, left the company because Kittler made her job so unpleasant after the episode. Years after the investigation, Kittler kicked and spat on Reavis because of Reavis’s cooperation with the FBI.