Opinion ID: 429223
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Seizure of the Person--Florida v. Royer

Text: 13 The appellant first contends that the evidence must be suppressed because it was obtained pursuant to an illegal seizure of his person within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. The government contends, and the district court held, that at no time was the defendant seized. In the alternative, the district court ruled that even if there had been a seizure, the seizure was reasonable and, thus, permissible under the Fourth Amendment. 14 The first question then is whether or not Saperstein was ever seized at the Detroit airport. If not, our consideration of this appeal is at an end. In United States v. Mendenhall, supra, Justice Stewart, writing for the Court, took the position that a defendant had not been seized when federal agents approached her, requested her identification and airline ticket and posed a few questions regarding her travels. Justice Stewart reasoned that nothing in the record suggests that the respondent had any objective reason to believe that she was not free to end the conversation in the concourse and proceed on her way. 446 U.S. at 555, 100 S.Ct. at 1878. Although Justice Stewart's opinion in Mendenhall was a plurality opinion, thus providing little binding precedent, 5 this Court has adopted the test utilized there for determining whether and when a seizure has occurred--i.e. whether, under the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable person would have believed he or she was not free to walk away. United States v. Moore, 675 F.2d 802 (6th Cir.1982); United States v. Jefferson, 650 F.2d 854 (6th Cir.1981). 15 The district court found the present case comparable to Mendenhall and relied on its plurality holding to find that no seizure had occurred. The district court simply reads the Mendenhall court's analysis of the seizure issue too broadly. Justice Stewart reasoned that a mere encounter had occurred during the initial questioning of Mendenhall. Only Justice Rehnquist joined in this view, however. The concurrence refused to reach the seizure issue because it had not been reached below, but did indicate that if the question were before the Court it would have been extremely close. The clear implication of the concurrence--which ultimately held that assuming, a seizure had occurred, it was a reasonable one--was that a seizure analysis was appropriate. Moreover, to the extent that Justice Stewart's nonseizure holding can be read to establish any clear precedent, it has clearly been limited to its facts. In United States v. Jefferson, supra, this Court considered the government's contention that a seizure had not occurred in circumstances somewhat similar to those we now consider. There, we concluded: 16 In this case, agent Markonni did not merely stop Jefferson to ask him a few questions; he stopped him and immediately after identifying himself as a DEA agent requested Jefferson to accompany him to the baggage claims office. In these circumstances, Jefferson could not reasonably believe that he was free to leave. This was a seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. 17 650 F.2d at 856 (footnote omitted). In other words, once factors beyond those present in Mendenhall exist, which factors would indicate to a reasonable person that he or she was not free to leave, the precise holding of Mendenhall is inapplicable. See also United States v. Berry, 636 F.2d 1075 (5th Cir.1981) (appellants were 'seized' at the time agent Markonni told appellant Berry that they had violated Georgia law by giving false identification to a law enforcement officer). 18 The Supreme Court implicitly approved this precise analysis when it held that the stop which occurred in Florida v. Royer, supra, was most certainly a seizure. The Court emphasized the factors which amounted to a sufficient show of authority to indicate to Royer that his freedom was limited: 19 Asking for and examining Royer's ticket and his driver's license were no doubt permissible in themselves, but when the officers identified themselves as narcotics agents, told Royer that he was suspected of transporting narcotics, and asked him to accompany them to the police room, while retaining his ticket and driver's license and without indicating in any way that he was free to depart, Royer was effectively seized for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment. These circumstances surely amount to a show of official authority such that a reasonable person would have believed he was not free to leave. United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 554, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 1877, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 (opinion of Stewart, J.). 20 460 U.S. at ----, 103 S.Ct. at 1326. 6 Royer, by citing the Mendenhall seizure test, clearly establishes the outer limits of a mere encounter. One need only look to Royer to readily conclude that the district court erred when it held that Saperstein was never seized under the Fourth Amendment. 21 Agent Demnik began his inquiry by simply asking the appellant if he would answer a few questions. This nonthreatening approach has been deemed something less than a seizure and, thus, placed within the bounds of the type of initial encounter in Mendenhall, See United States v. Moore, 675 F.2d at 807. Demnik went on, however. He followed this arguably innocuous request with the definite statement that he had information concerning the appellant and his probable activities as a drug courier. The appellant testified that once having been accused of drug trafficking by a DEA agent who was standing directly between him and any reasonable form of transportation, while being asked clearly incriminating questions, he reasonably believed he was not free to leave. 7 Considering this factor in combination with the added presence of a second agent, the request to move to the DEA office, the second request for Saperstein's license and ticket and the failure to inform him that he was free to leave, we are convinced that a reasonable person in Saperstein's position would have believed that he was not free to leave and, thus, that the appellant had clearly been seized. Florida v. Royer, supra. 22 Accordingly, to the extent that the denial of the suppression motion was based on the district court's conclusion that no seizure of the appellant's person had occurred, that order is clearly wrong and any subsequent conviction must be vacated. We still must address, however, the district court's alternative holding, and the government's additional argument, that if a seizure did occur, it was reasonable. A resolution of this issue would generally require a two-step analysis: (1) whether the elements of the drug courier profile exhibited by Saperstein were sufficient to justify any form of initial stop; and, if so, (2) whether the boundaries of a justifiable stop were overstepped. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. at 19, 88 S.Ct. at 1878; Florida v. Royer, --- U.S. at ----, 103 S.Ct. at 1325. 23 In Mendenhall, the three concurring Justices reasoned that the elements of the drug-courier profile, as they were manifested by Mendenhall and observed by the particular agent involved, justified an investigative stop. The concurrence noted that Mendenhall was very nervous and that all her motions and activities indicated a design to evade detection. 8 From the time she left the plane she allegedly reinforced the agent's suspicions with her every movement. The conclusion that Mendenhall's actions justified a seizure was only joined by three Justices, however, and was not even mentioned by the lead opinion. In addition, Justice Powell, writing for the concurrence, emphasized that he did not believe that reliance on the drug courier profile would necessarily demonstrate reasonable suspicion, noting that each case raising a Fourth Amendment issue must be judged on its own facts. 446 U.S. at 565 n. 6, 100 S.Ct. at 1883 n. 6. 24 In Royer, the plurality opinion of the Court indicated that, on the facts before it, there existed sufficient reasonable suspicion to justify a temporary detention within the bounds of Terry v. Ohio, supra. The Court based this conclusion on the fact that Royer exhibited several factors which DEA officers claim to be characteristic of drug traffickers. They were: (1) Royer was traveling under an assumed name; (2) he paid cash, in large denominations, for a one-way ticket; (3) rather than complete the airline identification tag in full, which included space for an address and telephone number, he wrote only a name and destination; (4) he was young, between 25 and 35, and casually dressed; (5) he was pale, nervous and continually looked around at others; and (6) he carried American Tourister luggage which appeared heavy. The Court reasoned that when taking these factors in combination, they constituted adequate grounds for suspecting Royer of carrying drugs and for temporarily detaining him and his luggage while attempting to verify or dispel their suspicions in a manner that did not exceed the limits of an investigative detention. 460 U.S. at ----, 103 S.Ct. at 1326. 25 Significantly, however, the Supreme Court still did not condone, or even specifically address, the use of the drug courier profile to justify investigative stops in all cases. Rather, the Court simply acknowledged that the confluence of the various characteristics exhibited by Royer could create a sufficient degree of suspicion in that case. It is also significant that the Supreme Court did not overrule its earlier decision in Reid v. Georgia, supra, when it handed down Royer. There, the Court held, in a per curiam opinion, that the following factors were insufficient to support any seizure: (1) the defendant had arrived from Fort Lauderdale, a source city; (2) the defendant arrived early in the morning, when law enforcement activity was diminished; (3) the defendant and his companion appeared to be trying to conceal the fact that they were traveling together; (4) the defendant's trip was short; he stayed in Fort Lauderdale only one day; and (5) the defendant and his companion had no luggage other than identical shoulder bags. Moreover, the opinion of the Court in Royer was also only a plurality. The concurring opinion of Justice Brennan, thus constituting a majority for purposes of the ultimate result reached, specifically found that under Terry v. Ohio the initial stop was itself illegal. Clearly, the DEA drug courier profile has simply not received a blanket stamp of approval by the Supreme Court. Rather, we are still left to answer the question of whether in each particular case the combination of facts present and the manner in which they are exhibited justifies a stop. While a review of the case-by-case analysis found in the various airport search cases narrows the inquiry somewhat, a resort to the elemental principles of Terry v. Ohio finally dictates the resolution of the Fourth Amendment issue presented here. 26 Saperstein, like so many others before him, allegedly exhibited certain characteristics which Special Agent Demnik deemed significant in light of his experience with drug traffickers. First, he was traveling from New York, a purported source city, to Detroit, a city characterized as very active in the drug trade. He also had apparently checked a large empty suitcase, an act which the government dubs a very suspicious factor. In addition, the appellant made the reservation at 2:00 p.m. on the preceding day, a short-notice reservation purportedly typical of drug couriers. The fact that the airline ticket was paid for in cash was also deemed significant since cash transactions leave no record. Finally, upon his return, the appellant lifted his suitcase in a manner which caused Demnik to conclude that it was not then empty. Obviously, these are not the same elements of the profile which Royer purportedly acted out, nor are they identical to those in Reid or Mendenhall. Accordingly, no statement from the Supreme Court specifically addressing the profile commands the conclusion that they either are, or are not, adequate to give rise to the kind of suspicion which would support any detention. 27 There are a large variety of traits which have characteristically been attributed to drug couriers, traits which may then combine or interact in any number of ways. 9 Recognizing that it is the overall effect of a person's behavior which gives rise to reasonable suspicion, this Court has still deemed certain behavior characteristics inherently unsuspicious and, thus, entitled to no weight in the calculation. See e.g. United States v. Andrews, 600 F.2d 563, 566 (6th Cir.1979) (nervousness deemed entirely consistent with behavior among innocent airport travelers and is entitled to no weight). See also United States v. McCaleb, 552 F.2d 717, 720 (6th Cir.1977). Travel to and from a source city, relied upon in the instant case, is one such innocent behavior trait: 28 Similarly, travel from Los Angeles cannot be regarded as in any way suspicious. Los Angeles may indeed be a major narcotics distribution center, but the probability that any given airplane passenger from that city is a drug courier is infinitesimally small. Such a flimsy factor should not be allowed to justify--or help justify--the stopping of travelers from the nation's third largest city. Moreover, our experience with DEA agent testimony in other cases makes us wonder whether there exists any city in the country which a DEA agent will not characterize as either a major narcotics distribution center or a city through which drug couriers pass on their way to a major narcotics distribution center. 29 United States v. Andrews, 600 F.2d at 567. The Supreme Court similarly was unwilling to find the presence of this factor determinative in Reid. The same holds true for the short-trip argument the government cites; its presence carried little or no weight for the court in Reid because it was so completely consistent with the normal behavior of innocent business commuters. 30 Moreover, it is significant that the government's extended reliance on the presence of the cash transaction carries no weight in this particular case. The purported benefit of such transactions to drug couriers is anonymity. However, the government admits that the appellant in this case not only furnished his own name to the airline ticket agent, but left a valid call-back number as well. Finally, there was no claim that the appellants demeanor or general behavior, either when boarding the plane for New York or upon return to Detroit, was in any way suspicious or indicative of a desire to evade detection. 31 The district court apparently recognized the weakness of the government's case when based only on its ability to point to these factors. The court noted that the use of this profile was in and of itself insufficient to justify a seizure. However, the district court then concluded that the fact that the suitcase was empty when the defendant departed but had weight when he returned bolstered the evidence of suspicious activity to the point where it barely meets the minimum threshold of something in addition to the courier profile. 32 We are compelled to disagree with the lower court's assessment of the suitcase evidence and its decision that such evidence could be determinative in this case. The Supreme Court in Reid rejected the factors relied upon by the government because the cited circumstances: 33 describe a very large category of presumably innocent travelers, who would be subject to virtually random seizures were the Court to conclude that as little foundation as there was in this case could justify a seizure. 34 448 U.S. at 438. Similarly, innocent reasons can be given for checking an empty suitcase to New York. An individual may be traveling to New York for a shopping spree, or to pick up materials, samples or documents in connection with his trade or business. Thus, the empty suitcase could not, alone or in combination with the other factors present here, provide a reasonable basis for a seizure. 10 35 The Supreme Court's key decision in Terry v. Ohio, supra, clearly supports the conclusion that the amalgam of traits elicited by Saperstein were insufficient to justify the DEA agents actions. 11 Before Terry no seizures of the person were deemed permissible under the Fourth Amendment absent probable cause. Terry created a limited exception to this general rule--allowing investigative steps on something less than probable cause where the governmental interest is important and the law enforcement officer is able to point to specific and articulable facts, which taken together with rational inferences from those facts reasonably warrant that intrusion. 392 U.S. at 21, 88 S.Ct. at 1880. (Emphasis added) See also Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. at ----, 103 S.Ct. at 1325. Recognizing that the government is urging us to justify an exception to general Fourth Amendment requirements, we simply believe the narrow grounds set out in Terry for such an exception are not present here. Granting that the government interest in quelling the surge of drug traffic in this country is extremely important, the intrusion in this case remains unjustifiable. First, as noted, we believe that the conclusion of illegality drawn from the checking of an empty suitcase is not a rational inference within the meaning of Terry. Moreover, Demnik himself, the relevant law enforcement officer, had no basis from which to conclude that the apparently weighted suitcase Saperstein claimed in Detroit was the same as that he purportedly checked through to New York. Having concluded above that the other characteristics allegedly exhibited by the appellant are entitled to little or no weight when determining whether a seizure was justified, it is obvious that Demnik was simply unable to point to the specific, articulable facts necessary under Terry to justify his actions. 12 As the Supreme Court cautioned in Terry: 36 in determining whether the officer acted reasonably in such circumstances, due weight must be given, not to his inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or hunch, but to the specific reasonable inferences which he is entitled to draw from the facts in light of his experience. 37 392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. at 1883 (emphasis added) (citations omitted). 38 Accordingly, we are unconvinced that Mendenhall dictates the result the government urges and, in fact, are convinced that, when read in conjunction with Terry, Reid, and now Royer, the Supreme Court's analysis of the issue commands the opposite conclusion. As such, we conclude that the district court's alternative basis for denying the suppression motion in this case was also erroneous. 39 In Royer, though finding that there was a sufficient basis upon which to justify a Terry-type investigative stop, the Court concluded that the seizure was otherwise unreasonable because it ultimately overstepped the limited bounds of Terry. 13 Our conclusions above, that a seizure did occur and that no seizure was reasonable, obviate the need to reach this issue. Accordingly, we decline to do so. We simply find that given the occurrence of the illegal seizure, any evidence gathered pursuant to that seizure was necessarily tainted and, thus, inadmissible. Florida v. Royer; see also United States v. Lara, 638 F.2d 892, 895 (5th Cir.1981) (link between any illegal activity and discovery of cocaine is too direct and proximate to permit a finding of attenuation from such illegality to allow admission of the discovered cocaine). 40