Court Opinion

ID: 9784784
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 20:53:56.65231+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:35:59.184788
License: Public Domain

Lynn, J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part. I agree with the majority that Captain O’Sullivan had probable cause to arrest the defendant. I also agree that, if the inventory search of the U-Haul truck was invalid, it makes sense in the circumstances of this case to remand to the trial court to determine whether there was probable cause for the search warrant in the absence of the information gleaned from the inventory search and to address the standing and “fruits” issues identified by the majority. I disagree, however, with the majority’s conclusion that the inventory search violated the police department policy concerning such searches.
The Kensington Police Department’s inventory search policy permits the search of the trunk of a vehicle even if it is locked. As the majority notes, “trunk” means “the luggage compartment of an automobile” Webster’s *674Third New International Dictionary 2456 (unabridged ed. 2002) (emphasis added). But the policy applies to all vehicles, not just to automobiles. A “vehicle” is “a carrier of goods or passengers.” Id. at 2538; see also RSA 259:122 (2004) (with certain exceptions not relevant here, statute defines “vehicle” as “every mechanical device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a way”).
That being the case, I agree with the reasoning of the superior court that, because the cargo area or “box” of the U-Haul truck is the functional equivalent of the trunk of an automobile, it was subject to search under the policy even though it was locked. Indeed, given that the three interests which underlie the inventory search doctrine, i.e., protection of property, avoidance of liability claims against the police, and protection of the police and the public from danger, are heightened — not lessened — in the case of vehicles, such as the U-Haul truck, which contain larger cargo areas than the trunk of a typical automobile, it is implausible that the policy was intended to restrict the search of such areas more narrowly than the search of an automobile trunk. Cf. State v. Rollins-Ercolino, 149 N.H. 336, 341 (2003) (court will not interpret statute to require an illogical result); Appeal of Geekie, 157 N.H. 195, 202 (2008) (court “will not interpret statutory language in a literal manner when such a reading would lead to an absurd result” (quotation omitted)); Appeal of Town of Pittsfield, 160 N.H. 604, 606 (2010) (principles of statutory construction govern interpretation of administrative regulations). It is true that, unlike many automobiles where the trunk is accessible or can be unlocked from inside the vehicle, the U-Haul could only be unlocked from the outside. But I fail to see how this distinction has any bearing on the issue at hand because, under the policy, a locked trunk can be searched even if it can be unlocked only from outside the vehicle. In my view, the policy uses the term “trunk” in a functional or generic sense, to refer to the cargo storage area of a vehicle. Since the box of the U-Haul truck fits this description, it may be searched even if locked.
Because I would find that the Kensington police policy allowed Captain O’Sullivan to inventory the box of the U-Haul truck, I must also address the defendant’s argument that Captain O’Sullivan violated the policy because he acted with the purpose to conduct a search for evidence. The short answer to this argument is that, although the defendant raises it in his appellate brief, the record contains no indication that he ever raised it before the trial court. For this reason, I need not consider it further. State v. Winward, 161 N.H. 533, 542 (2011) (appellant must demonstrate that issues raised on appeal were presented to trial court).
For the reasons stated above, I respectfully dissent from that portion of the majority opinion that holds the inventory search invalid. I, therefore, would affirm the defendant’s conviction.