Opinion ID: 166940
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Roadside Stop

Text: -10-
In reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress, this court accepts the factual findings of the district court unless they are clearly erroneous. United States v. Botero-Ospina, 71 F.3d 783, 785 (10th Cir. 1995) (en banc). “We view the evidence on appeal in the light most favorable to the government.” Id. The ultimate determination of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment is a question of law subject to de novo review. Id. The Constitution guarantees “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” U.S. Const. amend. IV. “Temporary detention of individuals during the stop of an automobile by the police, even if only for a brief period and for a limited purpose, constitutes a ‘seizure’ of ‘persons’ within the meaning of this provision.” Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 809-10 (1996). “Because a routine traffic stop is more analogous to an investigative detention than a custodial arrest, we have routinely analyzed such stops under the framework announced in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968).” United States v. Holt, 264 F.3d 1215, 1228 (10th Cir. 2001) (en banc). “Under Terry, we determine the reasonableness of a search or seizure by conducting a dual inquiry, asking first whether the officer’s action was justified at its inception, and second whether it was reasonably related in scope to -11- the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place.” Id. (quotations omitted). Briseno and Rodriguez first contend the initial stop by Jones did not support any contact with either of them. In essence, they argue that because they did not violate any Wyoming laws regarding the placement of the temporary registration, and because that fact was clear the minute Jones walked in sight of the temporary registration, Jones was obligated to terminate the encounter immediately. The problem with this argument, however, is that Briseno and Rodriguez never raised it before the district court. Instead, as specifically noted by the district court, they did “not challenge the initial stop or the subsequent issuance of a warning for failure to properly display the vehicle registration.” D. Ct. Order at 6 (emphasis added). Having failed to challenge before the district court the propriety of the warning for failing to properly display the vehicle registration, Briseno and Rodriguez cannot now assert on appeal that Jones was obligated to immediately terminate the encounter because the temporary registration was properly displayed. See United States v. Anderson, 374 F.3d 955, 958 (10th Cir. 2004). In the alternative, Briseno and Rodriguez assert Jones impermissibly extended the duration of the stop for reasons unrelated to the purpose of the stop. In support of this contention, they rely primarily on this court’s decision in United -12- States v. McSwain, 29 F.3d 558 (10th Cir. 1994). Their reliance on McSwain is, however, seriously misplaced. In McSwain, a trooper stopped the defendant “for the sole purpose of ensuring the validity of the vehicle’s temporary registration sticker.” Id. at 561. As soon as the trooper approached the vehicle, he observed that the temporary registration was valid. Id. The trooper nevertheless approached the vehicle and questioned the defendant about his travel plans and requested the defendant’s license and registration. Id. This court concluded the trooper’s actions violated the Fourth Amendment. Id. at 561-62 (“Having no objectively reasonable articulable suspicion that illegal activity had occurred or was occurring, [the trooper’s] actions in questioning [the defendant] and requesting his license and registration exceeded the limits of a lawful investigative detention and violated the Fourth Amendment.” (quotations, alterations, and citation omitted)). This case, unlike McSwain, involved a traffic violation. The temporary registration was improperly displayed, a matter Briseno and Rodriguez did not contest before the district court. Jones issued the defendants a warning for the improper display. As McSwain makes clear, it is well established in this Circuit that an officer conducting a routine traffic stop may inquire about identity and travel plans, request a driver’s license and vehicle registration, and run a computer check, as long as at the time the officer does so he or she “still has -13- some objectively reasonable articulable suspicion that a traffic violation has occurred or is occurring.” Id. (quotations omitted). Accordingly, Briseno and Rodriguez are simply wrong in asserting that, under the facts of this particular case, Jones was required to terminate the encounter as soon as he realized the temporary registration was valid. Nor were Jones’ actions between the initiation of the stop and the return of Briseno’s and Rodriguez’s travel documents improper. Instead, those actions were “reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the [stop] in the first place.” Holt, 264 F.3d at 1228 (quotation omitted). As noted above, McSwain makes clear that officers are entitled to inquire about identity and travel plans, request a driver’s license and vehicle registration, and run computer checks, as long as there exists reasonable suspicion that a traffic violation has occurred or is occurring. 29 F.3d at 561. Here, the district court found that process took no more than nineteen minutes to complete and that there was no evidence in the record that Jones was stalling in the performance of these routine tasks. D. Ct. Order at 6. Like the district court, we conclude this time frame is reasonable in light of the need to complete checks on both Briseno and Rodriguez and the fact that dispatch may be assisting as many as twelve troopers at any given time. See id. Accordingly, this court rejects Briseno’s and Rodriguez’s contention that Jones impermissibly extended the duration and scope of the stop. -14-
Briseno and Rodriguez assert that the consent for Jones to search the Suburban was not voluntarily given. “A traffic stop may become a consensual encounter if the officer returns the license and registration and asks questions without further constraining the driver by an overbearing show of authority.” United States v. Hernandez, 93 F.3d 1493, 1498 (10th Cir. 1996). A court must consider the totality of the circumstances to determine whether the officer’s conduct would have communicated to a reasonable person that he was free to terminate the encounter of his own volition. United States v. Elliott, 107 F.3d 810, 813-14 (10th Cir. 1997). “In determining whether a consent to search was free from coercion, a court should consider, inter alia, physical mistreatment, use of violence, threats, threats of violence, promises or inducements, deception or trickery, and the physical and mental condition and capacity of the defendant.” United States v. Pena, 143 F.3d 1363, 1367 (10th Cir. 1998) (quotation omitted). Finally, it must be noted that “[b]ecause voluntariness is a question of fact, [this] court must accept the district court’s finding unless it is clearly erroneous.” United States v. West, 219 F.3d 1171, 1177 (10th Cir. 2000). In asserting that their consent to Jones’ search of the Suburban was not voluntary, Briseno and Rodriguez argue as follows: (1) Jones testified at the suppression hearing that he would have continued to detain them even had they -15- not consented to the search because he believed he had reasonable articulable suspicion of wrongdoing; (2) they were separated from their traveling companion during the interaction with Jones; (3) the presence of a number of officers on the scene was coercive; (4) Jones leaned into the Suburban when he asked Briseno for consent to search; and (5) Briseno’s grasp of English is too limited to have given valid consent. For those reasons set out below, this court finds these arguments unconvincing. In contrast to the defendant’s assertions on appeal, Jones’ unexpressed subjective views about whether he had a sufficient legal basis to hold them if they refused to consent to a search of the Suburban are irrelevant to the question whether the consent was free of coercion. This is especially true in light of the district court’s finding that there was nothing coercive or forceful in the manner in which Jones interacted with Briseno and Rodriguez. For instance, the district court specifically found that Jones leaned into the Suburban simply to facilitate conversation with Briseno, who was seated in the back seat of the Suburban. Because Jones did not express, either through word or deed, that he intended to continue detaining the defendants had they declined consent to search the Suburban, Jones’ subjective intent is irrelevant to the question whether Briseno’s consent was voluntary. -16- The remainder of Briseno’s and Rodriguez’s contentions are equally unavailing. The separation of Briseno from his traveling companion was of a limited duration, lasting no more than twenty minutes. In addition, the district court rejected the assertion that Briseno could not understand English, finding that “[t]here is no evidence to support a finding that the Defendants did not understand what Trooper Jones was asking them.” D. Ct. Order at 7. Finally, we agree with the district court that the presence of other officers on the scene did not create a coercive environment. The district court specifically found that although three other troopers eventually joined Jones at the scene, only one of those officers came near Briseno prior to the search. None of the troopers unholstered his firearm or displayed any show of force. In sum, the defendants have not identified anything in the record demonstrating that the district court’s conclusion that Briseno voluntarily consented to the search of the Suburban is clearly erroneous. -17-