Court Opinion

ID: 9467109
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 01:38:50.410187+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:40:10.056472
License: Public Domain

STEPHENSON, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent.
The majority correctly states that warrantless searches are presumptively unreasonable. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 586, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 1380, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980); Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 357, 88 S.Ct. 507, 514, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967). Yet, where the intrusion is legitimate, evidence found in plain view is admissible. Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 464-69, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 2037-40, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971). Therefore, the first question is whether the initial entry was proper.
There are at least two general exceptions to the requirement of a warrant which merit consideration in this case. One of these is if the party consents to the search. Zap v. United States, 328 U.S. 624, 629, 66 S.Ct. 1277, 1279, 90 L.Ed. 1477 (1946). See Katz v. United States, supra, 389 U.S. at 358 n. 22, 88 S.Ct. at 515 n. 22. The other exception is if there are exigent circumstances that justify the search. Coolidge v. New Hampshire, supra, 403 U.S. at 465-69, 91 S.Ct. at 2037-40.
There is substantial evidence which supports the district court’s finding that Selberg consented to the search. Selberg told Mr. Lynch to “keep an eye on the place.” Defendant Selberg testified that two or three weeks before the incident in question *1297he had a conversation with his neighbor Lynch as follows: “I asked him [Lynch] if he would keep an eye on the house, on my mobile home, because I had some expensive material in there, my gun collection and my collections from World War I and World War II and the Civil War.” Selberg further testified that on the day before the incident he again asked Lynch “if he would keep an eye on my mobile home.” Lynch testified that on four or five occasions
he [Selberg] said if there was anything going on around his place to call the police. * * * He said he had some, you know, some weapons and a few things in his house he wouldn’t want to really get rid of, you know, so he just said if there is anything going on, just call the police.
Lynch further testified Selberg told him to
“[w]atch his place. One time he left he offered me a key and I said no, that it was not necessary, I said if there is anything going on I will just contact the police, you know, and he says, ‘Okay, fine.’ ”
It is reasonable to assume that this meant that if anything suspicious occurred, Mr. Lynch was to take appropriate action— which included calling the police and having them check out the mobile home.
A consent need not be explicit to be effective. The court can draw the consent from all the circumstances. United States v. Sor-Lokken, 557 F.2d 755, 757-58 (10th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 894, 98 S.Ct. 274, 54 L.Ed.2d 181 (1978). See generally Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 221, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2044, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973).
It is my view, after reviewing the evidence, that there is substantial evidence from which the district court could find that there was a consent to the search. There had been several thefts in the neighborhood, including thefts from the Lynches. There had been an automobile firebombing, vandalism, and other violent incidents. Selberg had a valuable war artifacts collection. He was justifiably concerned that someone might gain entry and steal or destroy the collection. He informed the Lynches of the existence of this collection. Indeed, he asked his neighbors to “keep an eye” on the trailer and said, according to Lynch, “if there is anything going on, just call the police.” He even offered them a key. The Lynches noticed that although the outer glass door was closed that the inner wood door on Selberg’s trailer was open and remained open for nearly a day. It was reasonable for them to be concerned. To the Lynches, it appeared that there might have been a burglary, or Selberg might have been hurt or ill. The open door was certainly an invitation to vandals or burglars to enter the house. Mrs. Lynch did what might be expected. She called the police, explained the situation to Officer Ham when he arrived and “asked him to check it” [the mobile home]. See United States v. Sor-Lokken, supra, 557 F.2d at 756-58.
In sum, there existed a condition to which Selberg had asked the Lynches to respond, which included calling the police. Under the circumstances, the district court was warranted in concluding that the entry of defendant’s premises by Officer Ham was consented to by the defendant through the authorization given to his neighbors, the Lynches.
The second exception to the warrant requirement, that of exigent circumstances, is an alternative ground for justifying the search. The term “exigent circumstances” has been construed to include and justify a number of warrantless searches.
Examples of where courts have found exigent circumstances demonstrate that the courts follow a case by case examination of the circumstances.1 A common thread run*1298ning throughout these cases is that the police were pursuing some good faith purpose made necessary by the circumstances and pursuant to their duty as police officers and were not using the situation as an excuse for discovering and securing evidence.
The search in the present ease complies with this test. The search was entirely consistent with the exigencies of the situation, in light of the fact that a great deal of crime had occurred in the neighborhood, Selberg’s door had been open for nearly a day, he had not been seen for over a day, he had asked his neighbors to “keep an eye” on the trailer, he had alerted his neighbors to the existence of a valuable weapons collection within the trailer, and the officer performed a restricted search. The officer sought to protest Selberg and his property. Officer Ham had cause to believe Selberg or his property were in danger, and his search was clearly limited to achieving this purpose.
Even though the initial entry of Officer Ham was justified, there still exists the question of whether opening the bedroom door was proper. Ham’s entry into the bedroom was a logical continuation of his entry for the purpose of ascertaining whether there had been or there was a continuing burglary or vandalism or whether Selberg was in need of assistance. In general, it was reasonable for him to give the residence a cursory inspection to ensure that a crime was not being committed or had been committed and that Selberg was not in personal danger.
Upon opening the bedroom door, Officer Ham saw the sawed-off rifle. “It is established that objects falling into the plain view of an officer properly in a position to perceive the view are subject to seizure and admissible as evidence.” United States v. Johnson, 541 F.2d 1311, 1316 (8th Cir. 1976).
The test for determining whether an item falls within the plain view rule is (1) the initial intrusion resulting in the “plain view” must be lawful, (2) discovery of the item must have been inadvertent, and (3) the incriminating nature of the item must be “immediately apparent.” Coolidge v. New Hampshire, supra, 403 U.S. at 466, 91 S.Ct. at 2038; Harris v. United States, 390 U.S. 234, 236, 88 S.Ct. 992, 993, 19 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1968); United States v. Cecil, 457 F.2d 1178, 1180 (8th Cir. 1972).
These requirements were satisfied in the present case. The entry falls within either the consent or exigent circumstances exception to the search warrant requirement. The discovery was inadvertent. There is no evidence indicating the intrusion was pretextual. The item’s incriminating nature was apparent because of the contraband status of most sawed-off rifles. See United States v. Williams, 523 F.2d 64, 66 (8th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1090, 96 S.Ct. 884, 47 L.Ed.2d 101 (1976).
Once the evidence was seized, it was appropriate that the officer have others inspect it, even if this involved subsequent entries. Only that evidence properly within the plain view of the officers was seized without a \yarrant. The rifle was not removed from the premise until a warrant was obtained.
In conclusion, it is my view that the district court correctly held that the entry was within either the consent or exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement. The evidence seized was within the plain view of the officer, and his warrant-less search was limited to an inspection of the premises for the purpose of ascertaining whether Selberg’s property had been burglarized or vandalized or whether Selberg was in danger. The subsequent warrant-less entries of other officers, at Officer *1299Ham’s request, were merely to inspect the sawed-off rifle and verify that it was a contraband firearm. The gun was not removed until a warrant was obtained.
I would affirm.

. The courts have held that evidence in pain view is admissible when discovered while investigating another matter, United States v. Zurosky, 614 F.2d 779 (1st Cir. 1979), appl. for stay denied, 445 U.S. 949, 100 S.Ct. 1596, 63 L.Ed.2d 784 (1980); United States v. Callabrass, 607 F.2d 559, 563 64 (2d Cir. 1979); United States v. Estese, 479 F.2d 1273, 1273 74 (6th Cir. 1973).. The officer need not be certain a crime had been or was being committed, United States v. Presler, 610 F.2d 1206, 1211 (4th Cir. 1979); United States v. Williams, 523 F.2d 64 (8th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1090, 96 S.Ct. 884, 47 L.Ed.2d 101 (1976) (land*1298lord alerted police that nontenants might be staying in an apartment building). In addition, the courts have admitted evidence seized while police conducted a community caretaking function, United States v. Wilson, 524 F.2d 595, 598 (8th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 945, 96 S.Ct. 1415, 47 L.Ed.2d 351 (1976) (investigating and removing debris from scene of auto accident). Also, the courts have admitted such evidence seized while police investigate what appeared to be an emergency, United States v. Moskow, 588 F.2d 882 (3d Cir. 1978) (prevent a fire); United States v. Nord, 586 F.2d 1288, 1290-91 (8th Cir. 1978) (help a drunk). See generally Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 392, 98 S.Ct. 2408, 2413, 57 L.Ed.2d 290 (1978).