Opinion ID: 2634684
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Parties' Contentions in the District Court

Text: [¶13] Williams' motion to suppress contained two paragraphs pertinent to our review: 17) Although Officer Broad had a valid reason to stop [Williams] for failing to have a front license plate, the resulting search of the vehicle was unreasonable and illegal pursuant to U.S. Const. Fourth Amendment and Wyo. Const. Art. 1 § 4. 18) Officer Broad did not have a search warrant, the search was not the result of a valid arrest or arrest warrant, [Williams] did not consent to the search and Officer Broad did not have probable cause to search the vehicle, therefore the search was illegal and in violation of the U.S. Const. Fourth Amendment and Wyo. Const. Art. 1 § 4. [¶14] In response to these assertions, the State agreed that Trooper Broad's initial traffic stop of Williams was lawful because of the license plate display violation; Trooper Broad did not have a search warrant; Trooper Broad's search was not the result of a valid arrest or arrest warrant; and Williams did not consent to the search. The State disagreed, however, that Trooper Broad did not have probable cause to search the Pontiac without a search warrant and that the resulting search was unreasonable and illegal under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 4 of the Wyoming Constitution. During the State's closing argument, State's counsel and the district court judge discussed federal case law concerning the automobile exception to the search warrant requirement. State's counsel maintained that probable cause and a vehicle are the two things that must be present before a law enforcement officer can search a vehicle without a warrant. The district court judge expressed disagreement with that statement, remarking, Well, actually, probable cause and exigency. In reply, State's counsel, said, No, there is no requirement of exigency. [¶15] After State's counsel concluded his closing argument, Williams' counsel presented a brief closing argument. In full, it was as follows: Well, Your Honor, we think our motion should be granted. [The prosecutor] refers to the Fourth Amendment. This is also under the Wyoming Constitution, as well. We'd just note to the Court there is a case out of Colorado, People of Colorado versus H. Haley. It's an unpublished opinion 2001 WL 1491444. Deals with an almost exact same situation as we have here. The Supreme Court of Colorado upheld the motion to suppress and denied the State of Colorado's appeal trying to overturn the trial court's granting. In fact, the Supreme Court of Colorado has consistently held that the actual sniffing by the dog of the exterior of the vehicle constitutes a search. Where does this end? You get pulled over for a simple traffic citation and you've got a fast food bag in your car and a cell phone and the next think you know, you've got a drug-sniffing dog all around your car. There was no consent given in this case. We think this evidence should be suppressed, Your Honor. [¶16] Williams' closing argument is notable for several reasons. First, there was no argument of federal case law on the automobile exception to the search warrant requirement. Second, although Williams' counsel stated [t]his is also under the Wyoming Constitution, as well, there was no cogent argument of an independent state constitutional analysis. Counsel's mere uttering the words Wyoming Constitution was no analysis at all. Counsel failed to preserve the issue for purposes of appellate review. Bailey v. State, 12 P.3d 173, 177-78 (Wyo. 2000); Doles v. State, 994 P.2d 315, 319-20 (Wyo. 1999); Gronski v. State, 910 P.2d 561, 565-66 (Wyo. 1996); Wilson, 874 P.2d at 219. Third, Williams' counsel did not challenge the reliability of the drug detection dog's alerts or training. Fourth, Williams' counsel did not raise issues about the duration of the traffic stop and the existence or non-existence of reasonable articulable suspicion. Finally, Williams' counsel referred to People v. Haley, 41 P.3d 666 (Colo. 2001), decided solely on grounds of the Colorado Constitution, and claimed it dealt with an almost exact same situation as we have here, but did not state the significant facts, issues, complete holding, or the reasons supporting the holding in that case; and counsel did not analyze the facts in Williams' case in light of the significant facts and holding in the Colorado case. [3]