Opinion ID: 2607859
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Reasonable Grounds To Associate Emergency With Defendant's Apartment

Text: Finally, the record provides an adequate basis from which the trial court could have found it reasonable for the police to enter the Fishers' apartment in search of them. When the police entered the apartment, they did not know the Fishers had left for Iowa and Illinois. All the police knew was that Bailey had been murdered sometime after she had purportedly gone to their apartment to collect the rent and that the Fishers had not responded to notes left on their door or attempts to summon them in their apartment for at least as long as Bailey had been dead. Griffith had connected Bailey's murder with the Fishers' disappearance. The police could reasonably have believed the Fishers had come to harm in their apartment and that the note on the door had been left to avert suspicion. Because the trial court could reasonably have found that the police officers' action in entering defendant's apartment fell within the emergency aid exception to the warrant requirement under Mitchell, supra, we find no abuse of discretion in its denial of defendant's motion to suppress. The exclusionary rule is a judicially created remedy designed to safeguard Fourth Amendment rights generally through its deterrent effect. United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, 348, 94 S.Ct. 613, 620, 38 L.Ed.2d 561, 571 (1974). Because a search conducted pursuant to the emergency aid exception is not unreasonable under the fourth amendment and because we do not want to deter police officers from engaging in searches for persons in distress, the exclusionary rule has no place here. We note that the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement, urged by the state as a justification for the warrantless entry, does not apply here. Because that exception is often confused with the emergency aid doctrine, we address them both in order to explain the fundamental distinction between them. Though both doctrines could justify a warrantless entry in a given factual setting, the nature of the circumstances that prompt the entry and the presence or absence of probable cause sufficient to obtain a search warrant determine which doctrine will apply. The exigent circumstances exception is triggered when the police, with probable cause but no warrant, enter a dwelling in the reasonable belief that the delay necessary to obtain a warrant threatens the destruction of evidence, Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966); United States v. Rubin, 474 F.2d 262, cert. denied sub nom. Agran v. United States, 414 U.S. 833, 94 S.Ct. 173, 38 L.Ed.2d 68 (1973); State v. Lloyd, supra , or when they have a reasonable belief that a crime is in progress or has just been committed in a dwelling and the delay attendant to obtaining a warrant endangers the safety or life of a person therein. See State v. Sainz, supra (exigent circumstances justified entry where it was prompted by phone call from a woman informing police that her son was chasing her with a knife); People v. Hill, 12 Cal.3d 731, 755, 528 P.2d 1, 20, 117 Cal. Rptr. 393, 412 (1974) overruled in part on other grounds in People v. DeVaughn, 18 Cal.3d 889, 558 P.2d 872, 135 Cal. Rptr. 786 (1977) (exigent circumstances justified entry where police reasonably believed the shooting that had recently occurred and seriously wounded one person might have resulted in other casualties; the delay incidental to obtaining a search warrant could have resulted in the unnecessary loss of life.); see also Johnson v. State, supra . The exigencies of the circumstances justify the failure to obtain the warrant that could have been obtained. Conversely, the emergency aid doctrine is triggered when the police enter a dwelling in the reasonable, good-faith belief that there is someone within in need of immediate aid or assistance. In cases in which this doctrine applies there is no probable cause which would justify issuance of a search warrant, see A.R.S. §§ 13-3912, -3913, and the police are not entering to arrest, search, or gather evidence. The need to ensure the safety and well-being of the public, rather than the need to ensure the preservation of evidence, justifies the warrantless entry. In the instant case, Sgt. Keith specifically stated that he lacked probable cause to obtain a warrant to enter and search the Fishers' apartment. His belief that the Fishers might have come to harm within did not rise to the level of probable cause sufficient to secure a search warrant. The entry into the apartment is justified by the emergency aid doctrine; the exigent circumstances exception simply does not apply. ABANDONMENT Finally, the trial court could have found the defendant lacked standing to challenge seizure of evidence obtained in the apartment. Though the defendant claimed he had left Phoenix for a short visit with his family in Iowa and Illinois, there is substantial evidence in the record from which the trial court could have found that he abandoned it with no intent to return. At the suppression hearing, defendant was not sure if he had informed Bailey of his intent to leave. Griffith, who apparently spent a good deal of time with the defendant and called upon him to perform managerial tasks, knew nothing of the planned trip. Finally, the fact that defendant had purchased a car in the early evening of September 12 and left Phoenix shortly thereafter casts doubt on his statement that he had planned the out-of-state trip several months earlier. The trial court could reasonably have concluded that the defendant had, in fact, made a sudden decision to leave Phoenix permanently with no intent to return to his apartment. The fact that the Fishers had taken their clothes and the television Bailey had given them supports this conclusion. Because one cannot claim a reasonable expectation of privacy in a place or thing one has abandoned, State v. Myers, 117 Ariz. 79, 570 P.2d 1252 (1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 928, 98 S.Ct. 1498, 55 L.Ed.2d 524 (1978); State v. Childs, 110 Ariz. 389, 519 P.2d 854 (1974), a person who has voluntarily abandoned his or her property lacks standing to object to a search or seizure of it. Abel v. United States, 362 U.S. 217, 80 S.Ct. 683, 4 L.Ed.2d 668 (1960); State v. Walker, 119 Ariz. 121, 579 P.2d 1091 (1978). If the court denied defendant's motion to suppress based on a finding that defendant lacked standing to object, it did not abuse its discretion. ADMISSION OF POST-ARREST STATEMENT Defendant's challenge to the admission of his post-arrest statement as fruit of the poisonous tree, Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963), must also fail. Because the initial entry and search of the apartment, as well as the subsequent seizure of evidence linking the defendant to the murder of Bailey, was proper, any evidence obtained as a result thereof was admissible. We find no error. ADMISSION OF HANDWRITTEN ITEMS The defendant specifically challenges the admission of a handwritten map and rent receipt book found in his apartment. He claims they were not sufficiently authenticated as required by Ariz.R.Evid. 901(a). We will consider each item individually. Map The map at issue was a rough sketch showing the intersections of Camelback Road with both Central Avenue and Seventh Street in Phoenix and the location of Uptown Plaza where Bailey's car was found. Defense counsel objected to its admission. He stated that the map was only relevant if it had been drawn by the defendant or his wife and, since no evidence of authorship had been introduced, it was inadmissible. The state replied that, because the map was found in the defendant's apartment, it was relevant, regardless of who had drawn it, to show that the defendant could have driven Bailey's car to Uptown Plaza. The state claimed the authorship affected the weight rather than the admissibility of the map. The court agreed with the state and the map was admitted. Ariz.R.Evid. 901(a) provides that: The requirement of authentication or identification as a condition precedent to admissibility is satisfied by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the matter in question is what its proponent claims. The state claimed the map was a sketch showing how to get from the defendant's apartment on Seventh Street to Uptown Plaza. Defendant erroneously believed the state proffered the map as the creation of one of the Fishers and that it would only be relevant if that were true. We find no abuse of discretion in the court's determination that the map was what its proponent claimed or in its decision to admit the map; we will not disturb its ruling. See State v. Emery, 141 Ariz. 549, 688 P.2d 175 (1984). Rent Receipt Book Defense counsel made a similar objection to the admission of a rent receipt book found in defendant's apartment. The book contained carbon copies of rent receipts issued to tenants of 716 E. Turney upon payment of their rents. Copies of receipts numbered 7001 through 7055 were marked with the initials MB whereas receipts 7056 through 7064, the last receipts written, had not been so marked. The state sought to use this evidence to support its claim that the defendant killed Bailey for the rent money he had collected for her. Defense counsel argued that the book was inadmissible because the state had not proffered any evidence to show that the initials were written by Bailey. The state replied that Ariz.R.Evid. 901(a) was satisfied by a Phoenix Police Department detective's identification of it as the rent receipt book removed from a desk in defendant's apartment. The court agreed with the state, stating that defense counsel's objection affected the weight rather than the admissibility of the evidence. We find no abuse of discretion. ADMISSIBILITY OF LETTERS FROM ANN FISHER TO DEFENDANT At trial, defendant moved to admit into evidence two letters written by Ann Fisher to the defendant on the grounds that they were either prior inconsistent statements, Ariz.R.Evid. 801(d)(1)(A), or statements against Ann Fisher's penal interest, Ariz.R. Evid. 804(b)(3). The trial court excluded the letters based on its knowledge that Ann Fisher would, if called to testify, assert her fifth amendment privilege and refuse to answer any question dealing with the letters. Admission of evidence is within the discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion. State v. Williams, 132 Ariz. 153, 644 P.2d 889 (1982); State v. Macumber, 119 Ariz. 516, 582 P.2d 162, cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1006, 99 S.Ct. 621, 58 L.Ed.2d 683 (1978). See United States v. Satterfield, 572 F.2d 687 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 840, 99 S.Ct. 128, 58 L.Ed.2d 138 (1978). We find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Ann Fisher's letters. Ariz.R.Evid. 801(d)(1)(A) provides that: A statement is not hearsay if    [t]he declarant testifies at the trial or hearing and is subject to cross-examination concerning the statement, and the statement is inconsistent with his testimony   . This rule does not apply here because the declarant, Ann Fisher, did not testify at trial concerning her statement to police officers in Iowa. Any statements inconsistent with her earlier statement were hearsay and only admissible pursuant to an exception to the hearsay rule. Ariz.R.Evid. 804(b) provides that The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule if the declarant is unavailable as a witness:       (3) Statement against interest. A statement which was at the time of its making so far contrary to the declarant's pecuniary or proprietary interest, or so far tended to subject him to civil or criminal liability, or to render invalid a claim by him against another, that a reasonable man in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true. A statement tending to expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate the accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement. Defendant argues that Ann Fisher was only unavailable because the state encouraged, if not induced, her to claim her fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Defendant says the state should have granted Ann Fisher immunity and that its failure to do so violated his sixth amendment right to confront witnesses against him. [4] We hold that Ann Fisher was unavailable pursuant to Ariz.R. Evid. 804(a)(1) and that the state was not required to grant her immunity. There is no sixth amendment right to have a witness testify if the witness claims a valid privilege. United States v. Turkish, 623 F.2d 769 (2d Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1077, 101 S.Ct. 856, 66 L.Ed.2d 800 (1981); State v. Jeffers, 135 Ariz. 404, 661 P.2d 1105, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 104 S.Ct. 199, 78 L.Ed.2d 174 (1983). A defendant's desire that a witness testify does not override the witness' fifth amendment right to claim the privilege against self-incrimination. See State v. McDaniel, 136 Ariz. 188, 665 P.2d 70 (1983); State v. Axley, 132 Ariz. 383, 646 P.2d 268 (1982). Defendant did not have a right to have Ann Fisher testify at his trial if she voluntarily chose to claim her fifth amendment right. It is clear in Arizona that the state has no obligation to grant immunity to a witness. Instead, [i]t is a matter of prosecutorial discretion to decide when the public interest would be served by a grant of immunity. State v. Axley, supra, at 388, 646 P.2d at 273; State v. Verdugo, 124 Ariz. 91, 602 P.2d 472 (1979); State v. Cookus, 115 Ariz. 99, 563 P.2d 898 (1977); A.R.S. § 13-4064. As we concluded in State v. Buchanan, 110 Ariz. 285, 289, 518 P.2d 108, 112 (1974), and reiterated in State v. Axley, supra, 132 Ariz. at 388, 646 P.2d at 273: Faced with a claim of the privilege against self-incrimination there is nothing in the Fourteenth Amendment which gives a criminal defendant the right to have immunity granted to the witness. In State v. Axley we considered the Third Circuit's contentions that due process may require the government to request immunity for a defense witness where that witness' decision to claim the fifth amendment was caused by prosecutorial misconduct, United States v. Morrison, 535 F.2d 223 (3d Cir.1976), and that a court has inherent authority to immunize a witness when the witness would offer clearly exculpatory and essential testimony and the government has no strong interest in withholding use immunity, Government of the Virgin Islands v. Smith, 615 F.2d 964, 972 (3d Cir.1980). We noted that [t]here is no violation of the right to compulsory process when the unavailability of the witness has not resulted from the suggestion, procurement, or negligence of the government, State v. Axley, supra, 132 Ariz. at 388, 646 P.2d at 273, and held that the government's failure to give the defense witness immunity did not violate the defendant's due process rights because the witness' decision to assert the fifth amendment was clearly not induced by prosecutorial misconduct. The instant case is more complicated. Here, defendant claims he was denied his constitutional right to compulsory process and a fair trial because the witness, Ann Fisher, only asserted her fifth amendment right, and thereby became unavailable, in order to secure the benefits of a plea agreement. We need to determine if that allegation is true, and, if it is, whether the offer of the plea agreement constitutes prosecutorial misconduct. Though the plea agreement here is unusual, if not unethical, we find that Ann Fisher's decision to assert the fifth amendment was not necessarily procured by it. The agreement stated that upon termination of the guilt stage of defendant's trial, Fisher would be permitted to plead guilty to hindering prosecution, a class five felony, if certain conditions were met. The condition relevant here provided that if she is called as a witness in the trial of James Fisher and required to testify, her testimony will not vary substantially in relevant areas to statements previously given   . Given the United States Supreme Court's pronouncement on plea bargaining in Bordenkircher v. Hayes, 434 U.S. 357, 98 S.Ct. 663, 54 L.Ed. 604 (1978), we find that the threat associated with this provision of the plea agreement, namely, that she would lose the bargain if she chose to testify at James Fisher's trial and her testimony was inconsistent with her statements in Iowa, did not compel Ann Fisher's decision to be unavailable. Though it is possible that Ann Fisher chose not to testify to secure the benefits of the plea agreement, it is equally possible that she chose not to testify to avoid self-incrimination. Because the trial court could reasonably have found that Ann Fisher's reason for not testifying was the latter, we do not disapprove of its decision not to compel the state to grant Ann Fisher immunity. Given this disposition of defendant's argument, we need not determine if the plea agreement constitutes prosecutorial misconduct under Morrison, supra . [5] Furthermore, the conditions recognized in Virgin Islands, supra, as sufficient to trigger a court's inherent authority to immunize a witness are not present here. Defendant presented no evidence that Ann Fisher, if immunized, would offer evidence that was clearly exculpatory and essential to the defense's case, and the state had a valid interest for withholding immunity because Ann Fisher was subject to prosecution for the same murder for which defendant was being tried. See State v. Axley, supra (fact that co-defendant had the right to appeal his conviction gave state valid interest in withholding immunity). Neither the state nor the trial court was required to grant Ann Fisher immunity. Ann Fisher was validly unavailable. Having established Ann Fisher's unavailability, the question becomes whether the letters were statements against her interest. Ariz.R.Evid. 804(b)(3). Though we do not construe Ariz.R.Evid. 804(b)(3) to say that only direct confessions are sufficiently against penal interest, United States v. Barrett, 539 F.2d 244 (1st Cir.1976), we do read the rule to require that the statement to be introduced implicate the declarant in a crime. In the instant case, Ann Fisher's letters are not against her penal interest. In the letter dated January 11, 1982, Ann Fisher informed the defendant that [i]t was someone else who lived in the apt. complex who killed her.   Jim, you didn't Kill Mrs. Bailey! (emphasis in original). At no time did she admit any involvement in the murder. The letter does not fall within this exception to the hearsay rule. In the letter dated April 20, 1982, the second day of defendant's trial, Ann Fisher wrote: If, for any reason, I have to take the stand, I will confess, because I've already told you, I love you. Again, she did not implicate herself in the murder of Bailey. She simply said she would confess because she loved the defendant and did not want to see him incarcerated. This letter, like the first, is beyond the scope of Ariz.R.Evid. 804(b)(3). Because we find that Ann Fisher's letters are not against her penal interest, nor within any other exception to the hearsay rule, see Ariz.R. Evid. 803-804, we need not consider whether the trial court's reason  that exclusion was required because the declarant, Ann Fisher, would not testify with respect to them if called at trial  is correct. Since exclusion was proper, we uphold the trial court. It is our duty to affirm a trial court's ruling provided the result is legally correct. State v. Dugan, 113 Ariz. 354, 555 P.2d 108 (1976); State v. Claxton, 122 Ariz. 246, 594 P.2d 112 (App. 1979).