Opinion ID: 532635
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: voluntariness of garcia's consent

Text: 17 The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement authorities of the United States government. It is well settled under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments that a search conducted without a warrant issued upon probable cause is 'per se unreasonable ... subject only to a few specifically established and well-delineated exceptions.'  Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 219, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2043, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973) (quoting Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 357, 88 S.Ct. 507, 514, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967) and Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 454-455, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 2031-2032, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971)). One of the well-established exceptions to the probable cause and warrant requirements is a search which is conducted pursuant to voluntary consent. Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 219, 93 S.Ct. at 2043 (citing Davis v. United States, 328 U.S. 582, 593-594, 66 S.Ct. 1256, 1261-1262, 90 L.Ed. 1453 (1946) and Zap v. United States, 328 U.S. 624, 630, 66 S.Ct. 1277, 1280, 90 L.Ed. 1477 (1946)). 18 In order for consent to a search to be deemed voluntary, it must be the product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice. See Culombe v. Connecticut, 367 U.S. 568, 602, 81 S.Ct. 1860, 1879, 6 L.Ed.2d 1037 (1961). In examining all the surrounding circumstances to determine if in fact the consent to search was coerced, account must be taken of subtly coercive police questions, as well as the possibly vulnerable subjective state of the person who consents. Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 229, 93 S.Ct. at 2048. However, to place artificial restrictions upon such searches would jeopardize their basic validity. Id. Hence, in determining whether Garcia's consent was voluntary, we must scrutinize the facts, and strike a balance between Garcia's right to be free from coercive conduct and the legitimate need of the government to conduct lawful searches. See Id. at 227, 93 S.Ct. at 2047. 19 In striking this balance, we must review the undisputed facts which describe the circumstances under which Garcia consented to the search of his home and apply the law to those facts. The agents testified that they arrested Garcia in his front yard after establishing surveillance at his house on the morning of April 21, 1988. There were fourteen agents present during the arrest. (R2-27, 67). Fearful that other armed persons might be in the house, a group of the agents conducted what the district court characterized as a proper security sweep of Garcia's home. (Supp.R. 3). The agents found no one other than Garcia's mother-in-law in the house. Id. Agent Trasollas testified that after he arrested Garcia and searched him for weapons, Garcia led Trasollas into the house to show him the location of his weapons. (R2-136). Garcia was then placed on the couch in his living room and read in Spanish his Miranda rights by officer Diazlay. (Supp.R. 4). Officer Diazlay next requested a verbal consent in Spanish, and Garcia consented to only a limited search. Id. The agents refused this conditional consent and requested consent to search the entire premises or else they would have to secure the house and apply for a search warrant. Id. Diazlay testified that Garcia responded, You can go ahead and search the house. (R2-119). 20 The trial court found that under these circumstances, Garcia's consent could not be considered voluntary. We disagree. This is not a case in which the consent was merely acquiescence to a claim of lawful authority. Cf. Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 549, 88 S.Ct. 1788, 1792, 20 L.Ed.2d 797 (1968). The agents never represented to Garcia that they were in possession of a search warrant, or that they could lawfully search his premises without his consent. The agents merely stated that they would not accept Garcia's conditional consent, and that if he refused to consent to a full search, the agents would attempt to obtain a warrant. (Supp.R. 4). Further, defendant adduced no evidence indicating a lack of mental capacity to understand his actions. 21 There are cases within this circuit that have approved a finding of voluntariness when defendant was under far more coercive conditions than in the instant case. For example, in United States v. Long, 866 F.2d 402 (11th Cir.1989), an investigation of a tip that defendant was involved in a counterfeiting conspiracy led officers to defendant's home. The officers requested defendant's consent to search for counterfeit currency they suspected was buried in the yard, and stated that if he refused they would return and dig the place up. Id. at 404. Defendant consented. The court held that defendant's consent was voluntary. The court opined, Even if the officers stated that they could come back and 'dig the place up,' such a statement does not amount to coercion. Id. at 405. 22 If the Long court found the officers' statements that they could return and dig the place up to be uncoercive, then certainly we should find the agents' statements to Garcia equally unintimidating. The agents did not threaten, as did the officers in Long, that unless Garcia consented to the search, his home would be damaged upon the acquisition of a search warrant. The agents simply told Garcia that they would secure the house and attempt to obtain a search warrant if he refused consent. We find nothing in this statement which would indicate that the agents were trying to do anything more than lawfully request Garcia's permission to search. 23 Another case which supports our holding that Garcia's consent was voluntary is United States v. Espinosa-Orlando, 704 F.2d 507 (11th Cir.1983). In this case, federal agents, suspecting that defendant was transporting controlled substances in his car, arrested defendant near his automobile at gunpoint. The agents then forced defendant to lay on the grass near the roadway, and all but one agent reholstered their weapons. While defendant was lying on the ground, the agents requested defendant's permission to search his car. Defendant answered affirmatively. The court held that despite the fact that defendant was lying on the ground near the officials and that one agent on the scene still had his weapon drawn, albeit pointed elsewhere, defendant's consent to the search was voluntary and uncoerced. 24 Espinosa-Orlando clearly supports our finding of voluntariness in the instant case. The circumstances in which Garcia found himself were far less constraining than those present when Espinosa consented to the search of his automobile. Unlike Espinosa, who was lying on the ground near a road with four agents towering over him, Garcia was in his own living room seated on his sofa. The trial court indicated that the fact that Garcia was in his own living room exacerbated the coercive nature of the conditions at the time of the agents' request. (Supp.R. 4). It appears to us that the opposite is true. We submit that one would feel more comfortable and free from pressure when he is in his living room than when he is lying in the grass on the edge of the street. 25 We realize, however, that Garcia's circumstances differed from Espinosa's insofar as the number of agents in and around Garcia's home (fourteen) was far greater than the number of agents surrounding Espinosa (four), and insofar as Garcia was handcuffed while Espinosa was not. We concede that these factors indicate that Garcia was under some pressure to comply with the agents' request, but considering the totality of the circumstances, we cannot conclude that these factors caused Garcia's consent to become involuntary. The record does not manifest that all fourteen agents were in the living room while Garcia was being asked for his consent to the search. Consequently, although the trial judge found that there were fourteen agents present, we will not assume that all were in the same room when Garcia consented. Further, there is simply no evidence that these officers employed any tactics that would augment the degree of coercion that is inherent in any arrest. See United States v. Horton, 488 F.2d 374, 381 (5th Cir.1973), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 993, 94 S.Ct. 2405, 40 L.Ed.2d 772 (1974). Thus, while we understand that Garcia was nervous during the arrest 6 , we do not believe that his nervousness resulted from extraordinary or unlawful police conduct. 26 Finally, the trial court seemed extremely concerned that Garcia initially gave conditional consent, and only after persistence by the officers was [unconditional] consent obtained. (Supp.R. 4). We would agree with the trial court that in some cases persistence could lead to an involuntary confession. For instance, if the agents had requested Garcia's consent so many times that Garcia responded affirmatively in an effort to escape further harassment or as a result of frustration and exhaustion, then we would find the consent involuntary. However, this case presents a different scenario. Agent Raffanello testified at the suppression hearing that Garcia initially consented to a search of only certain rooms. (R2-96). Apparently, this was because he did not want the agents to find some personal items. (R2-119). Agent Raffanello then instructed officer Diazlay to inform Garcia that the agents would secure the house and attempt to procure a search warrant. (R2-96, 109, 110, 121, 122, 123). 7 Garcia responded that the agents could search the entire house. (R2-119, 123). There is no evidence to indicate that the officers were attempting to harass or intimidate Garcia. They did nothing more than once request Garcia's unlimited consent after receiving his qualified consent and informing him of his alternatives. Defendant adduced no evidence to indicate that the agents deprived him of a true choice to refuse consent. Thus, the fact that Garcia initially refused to allow an unlimited search does not in this case vitiate his later unconditional consent.