Court Opinion

ID: 9678387
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 06:18:25.176758+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:04.063877
License: Public Domain

SHIRLEY S. ABRAHAMSON, J.
(concurring). I write separately to express concerns I have with the majority’s deciding the fourth amendment issue of the defendant’s “reasonable expectation of freedom from governmental intrusion” without remanding the cause to the circuit court for findings of fact and conclusions of law.
In denying the defendant’s motion to suppress, the circuit court failed to make either findings of fact or conclusions of law. Thus for the majority to render a decision on this record it must either conclude that the material facts are not in dispute, and as such the lack of findings is irrelevant, or that even though the facts are in dispute this court can itself find the facts and draw the necessary inferences therefrom. It is unclear from the majority opinion whether the majority considers that the facts or inferences to be drawn therefrom are in dispute or whether the majority considers the facts undisputed.
This court has held that where there were no findings, or where the findings were inadequate, and an issue upon which there is no finding appears from the record to exist, the appellate court may assume that the circuit court determined the issue in favor of or in support of its decision. Sohns v. Jensen, 11 Wis. 2d 449, 453, 105 N.W.2d 818 (1960). Sohns is not helpful in this case because the circuit court failed to set forth the rationale for its decision to deny the motion to suppress.
The circuit court might have decided that the defendant had “standing,” but that the search was reasonable. *728This court would then resolve factual disputes in favor of the defendant on the standing issue and against the defendant on the reasonableness issue. Or the circuit court might have concluded that the defendant had no standing and might never have reached the reasonableness issue. In this event this court would resolve factual disputes against the defendant on the standing issue.
If there is a factual dispute in this case, the Sohns rule that the appellate court can assume that the facts were decided by the circuit court in support of that court’s decision is not applicable because we do not know the decision of the circuit court. We do not know whether the circuit court denied the motion to suppress because it concluded that the challenged search and seizure did not infringe on any rights or interests of the defendant which were protected by the fourth amendment or because it concluded that the challenged search and seizure did not violate the fourth amendment.
If there is a factual dispute in this case, the Wurtz rule comes into play. In Wurtz v. Fleischman, 97 Wis. 2d 100, 108, 298 N.W.2d 155 (1980), this court said that when the facts are in dispute and the circuit court has made no findings or has made inadequate findings “the only appropriate course” for an appellate court “is to remand the cause to the trial court for the necessary findings.”
This case illustrates again that unless the circuit court states its findings of fact and conclusions of law, meaningful appellate review is hampered. I therefore urge circuit courts to set forth their findings of fact and conclusions of law in deciding motions to suppress.
Since the majority does not remand the cause to the circuit court for findings, 1 conclude that the majority must mean that what took place, i.e., the historical facts, the physical facts and the factual inferences therefrom, are undisputed. Thus the majority’s de novo review of *729the record must have been to determine the undisputed facts.
If I assume for the moment that the facts are undisputed, the question facing this court is one of law, i.e., what is the legal significance of the facts. To state the question another way, do the facts fulfill the constitutional standard. Nottleson v. DILHR, 94 Wis. 2d 106, 115-116, 287 N.W.2d 763 (1980).
The court in this case must determine whether the totality of the facts is such that it gives rise to a legitimate or reasonable expectation on the part of the defendant to privacy, i.e. to be free from governmental intrusion. Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128 (1981). The majority opinion of the United States Supreme Court in Rakas neither defined legitimate expectation of privacy nor specifically listed the factors which are determinative of the reasonableness of the defendant’s asserted privacy expectations. The majority in Rakas did, however, say that a legitimate expectation of privacy means “more than a subjective expectation of not being discovered.” The majority in Rakas further explained that the “legitimacy of expectations of privacy by law must have a source outside of the Fourth Amendment, either by reference to concepts of real or personal property law or to understandings that are recognized and permitted by society.” In regard to concepts of property law, the Rakas majority said that “expectations of privacy protected by the Fourth Amendment . . . need not be based on common-law interest in real or personal property,” but that “the Court has not altogether abandoned use of property concepts in determining the presence or absence of the privacy interests protected by that Amendment.” 439 U.S. at 144, n. 12. In regard to “the understandings that are recognized and permitted by society,” the Rakas majority did not tell us how we determine these understandings.
*730Admittedly, the determinations of what are the everyday expectations of privacy which we all share and what facts fit these expectations are not easy to make. The majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions of the United States Supreme Court in Rakas acknowledge that the Rakas test “will not provide law enforcement officials with a bright line between the protected and the unprotected.” Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. at 168; see also 439 U.S. at 144-148, 152. Because the majority bases its decision on Rakas1 and its case-by-case approach, it is incumbent upon this court to explicate carefully the factors in each case which are determinative of the issue of “legitimate expectation of privacy” so that law enforcement officials, the circuit courts, and the court of appeals can better deal with the multitude of situations they may encounter.
Fortunately the majority lists six elements it regards as helpful and relevant to the determination of what are legitimate expectations of privacy.2 This list was origi*731nally compiled by the court of appeals from its reading of the majority and concurring opinions in Rakas. Unfortunately, neither the opinion of the court of appeals nor that of the majority explicitly analyzes the facts of this case in terms of these six elements. I read both opinions, however, as implicitly concluding that the defendant satisfied elements 2, 4, 5 and 6 and failed to satisfy the first element. Thus the different result reached by the court of appeals and the majority apparently turns on the meaning of the third element and whether the facts satisfy the third element — whether the defendant “had complete dominion and control and the right to exclude others.”3
Initially it should be noted that the majority and the court of appeals do not appear to be interpreting the third element differently. They both appear to conclude that this third element cannot be read to mean that there can be no legitimate expectation of privacy unless the person asserting the expectation is the only person who has complete dominion and control over the premises. Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257 (1960) makes that *732clear. In Jones the defendant was held to have a legitimate expectation of privacy in a friend’s apartment for which he had a key. Jones’ dominion.and control was shared with the tenant, his friend. When the search was conducted Jones was present on the premises. Based on these facts the United States Supreme Court concluded that Jones had complete dominion and control. Since Jones the Court has not specifically commented on what it means by “complete control and dominion.”
A comparison of the majority opinion with that of the court of appeals reveals that the authors of the opinions have drawn different factual inferences from the testimony and have applied the third element to different “findings” of fact.
The court of appeals has inferred from the record that the defendant stayed at the victim’s apartment regularly; that although it is not clear that the victim’s apartment was the defendant’s regular home, the defendant used the apartment with some frequency; and that the defendant could exercise control over the apartment and could exclude others from the apartment. On these findings of fact the court of appeals concluded that the defendant had complete dominion and control and on the basis of all the facts and circumstances the court of appeals concluded that the defendant had standing.
The majority on the other hand infers that the defendant “was not a regular occupant of the premises” and “only gained access to the apartment when Wanona Jarrett gave him a key and wanted him to be there.” Supra, p. 714. Implicit in the majority’s inference is the finding that the apartment was kept locked; that the defendant’s access to the apartment was restricted by the victim’s possession of the only key; that the defendant spent time in the apartment only when allowed to do so by the victim and only on terms set by the victim; and that the defendant’s access to and control over the apart*733ment was limited to when he was present with the victim’s consent as a babysitter or lover. On these findings of fact the maj ority concludes that the defendant did not have complete dominion and control and on the basis of all the facts and circumstances the majority concludes that the defendant did not have standing.
I have read the record, and I conclude that neither the inferences drawn by the court of appeals nor those drawn by the majority are against the great weight and clear preponderance of the evidence. Having reached this conclusion I must further conclude that neither this court nor the court of appeals is the appropriate tribunal to draw these inferences so essential to a decision in this case. These factual inferences must be made by the circuit court which heard the testimony, saw the witnesses and evaluated their credibility. I would therefore remand the matter to the trial court to make findings of fact and conclusions of law.
I also wish to express my concerns about several other matters arising in this case.
First, the majority opinion should not be read to mean that because the victim’s apartment was not defendant’s regular, usual or primary home, the defendant could have no reasonable expectation of privacy in the apartment. A person can have more than one dwelling and a reasonable expectation of privacy in each dwelling. Also a person can have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a place other than his own dwelling. A person’s privacy can be protected in a hotel room, Hoffa v. United States, 385 U.S. 293 (1966); a union hall, Mancusi v. DeForte, 392 U.S. 369 (1964); a phone booth, Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967); a business office, Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States, 251 U.S. 385 (1920); a friend’s apartment, Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257 (1960); a footlocker, United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1 (1977); and even a taxicab, Rios v. United States, *734364 U.S. 253 (1960). Thus, though it is apparent the defendant did maintain at least the semblance of a home with the victim’s mother, this does not preclude his having a privacy interest in another place of residence. The majority’s recitation of the evidence showing defendant’s relation to the mother’s house is significant only to the extent that it is probative of the nature of the defendant’s use of the victim’s apartment and the nature of his expectation of privacy in the victim’s home.
Second, the majority opinion should not be read to mean that the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy because he and the victim used the apartment not only for private purposes as a residence but for illicit private purposes. It is clear from the record that the defendant used the victim’s apartment for private purposes. He slept in the apartment with the victim and he often took care of her children, which included a child of his own. Although the majority concluded that the defendant did not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the apartment at the time it was searched, the majority does acknowledge that the defendant’s activities did give rise to a limited expectation of privacy at certain times. Supra, p. 714.
I express a final concern over the majority’s failure to explain adequately why if the defendant had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the apartment at certain times, the expéctation of privacy did not exist at the time of the searches in question. The majority acknowledges that the defendant had “a limited expectation of privacy while he was present babysitting.” Supra, p. 714. The defendant had been babysitting the morning of the murder and later into the day when he left the apartment to be interviewed by the police. The majority apparently concludes without discussion or elaboration that either the defendant’s expectation of privacy as babysitter ended when he found someone else to watch the children while he went *735with the police or that his expectation of privacy was not violated by a general search of the apartment in contrast to a search of his personal effects. These are two different holdings, and it is unclear which one the majority adopts. The lack of clarity in the majority’s opinion may be attributable to the lack of findings of fact by the circuit court.
For the reasons set forth, I concur that the court of appeals decision should be reversed.

 While Rakas and the Fourth Amendment upon which it is based determine the minimal constitutional protection that state courts must afford defendants, this court could, under the Wisconsin Constitution, Art. I, sec. 11, formulate its own standards for determining when a defendant has standing to challenge a search. See State v. Alston, 30 Cr. L. 2129 (N.J. 10/21/81), where the New Jersey Supreme Court refused to follow Rakas and its progeny, United States v. Salvucci, 448 U.S. 83 (1980), which abandoned the automatic standing rule for possessory offenses under the Fourth Amendment. The New Jersey court relied on the protections against unreasonable search and seizures guaranteed by its state constitution, refusing to adopt the United States Supreme Court’s interpretation of standing under the Fourth Amendment as its interpretation of standing under its state constitution.

 The majority at pp. 711, 712, note 6, explains the six elements as follows:
“The court of appeals summarized elements discussed in Rakas which are relevant to the determination of whether one has a legitimate expectation of privacy as is seen below. We note this *731summary as it may be useful to courts in determining the standing of defendants in other cases, although we point out that this list of elements is neither controlling nor exclusive.
“1. Whether one had a property interest in the premises;
“2. Whether one is legitimately (lawfully) on the premises;
“3. Whether one had complete dominion and control and the right to exclude others ;
“4. Whether the person took precautions customarily taken by those seeking privacy;
“5. Whether the property was put to some private use;
“6. Whether the claim of privacy is consistent with historical notions of privacy.”

 This element was derived by the court of appeals from Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 267 (1960). For a discussion of Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98 (1980), and the right to exclude others, see LaFave, Search and Seizure, sec. 11.3, pp. 111-15 (1981 Supp.).