Court Opinion

ID: 9464826
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 23:43:49.8164+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:38:50.434260
License: Public Domain

McKAY, Circuit Judge,
dissenting as follows:
The majority today holds that the decision of the Supreme Court in Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651, 97 S.Ct. 2034, 52 L.Ed.2d 651 (1977), is not applicable when a defendant lodges notice of appeal from a pretrial order denying a motion to *824dismiss an indictment on double jeopardy grounds but cannot pursue the matter because of the uncertainty in the law with respect to its appealability. I disagree.
Prior to Abney, decided during the pend-ency of this appeal, five circuits had held that denials of pretrial motions to dismiss indictments on double jeopardy grounds are “final decisions” from which appeals may be taken pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1970), as interpreted by Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 69 S.Ct. 1221, 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949). United States v. Barket, 530 F.2d 181 (8th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 917, 97 S.Ct. 308, 50 L.Ed.2d 282 (1976); United States v. DiSilvio, 520 F.2d 247 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1015, 96 S.Ct. 447, 46 L.Ed.2d 386 (1975); United States v. Beckerman, 516 F.2d 905 (2d Cir. 1975); Thomas v. Beasley, 491 F.2d 507 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 417 U.S. 955, 94 S.Ct. 3083, 41 L.Ed.2d 674 (1974); United States v. Lansdown, 460 F.2d 164 (4th Cir. 1972). Two circuits had adopted the contrary position, holding that pretrial denials of motions to dismiss based on double jeopardy are appealable only as part of an appeal from the trial court’s ultimate conviction. United States v. Young, 544 F.2d 415 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1024, 97 S.Ct. 643, 50 L.Ed.2d 626 (1976); United States v. Bailey, 512 F.2d 833 (5th Cir.), cert. dismissed, 423 U.S. 1039, 96 S.Ct. 578, 46 L.Ed.2d 415 (1975).
This court had not decided the issue at the time of appellants’ trial in the district court. When the trial court denied her pretrial motion to dismiss, appellant Hanson immediately brought to the attention of the court the above cited cases and stated her desire to “give notice of appeal of the denial.” Record, vol. 4, at 188. The court responded “You have ample time for that. You have ten days for that anyway.” Id. Appellant Hanson subsequently asked, “May I give oral notice of appeal?” Id. The court answered, “Yes, you certainly may.” Id. The court then expressly acknowledged her request for an interlocutory appeal and ruled: “Fine, it will be denied.” Id. at 190. The other appellants made identical motions to dismiss, gave oral notice of appeal, and requested an interlocutory appeal. Id. at 190-91. These motions and requests for appeal were similarly denied by the district court. Id. The denial of pretrial motions to dismiss because of double jeopardy were incorporated in appellants’ consolidated appeals taken from their ultimate convictions.
The threshold issue before us is whether appellants’ notices of appeal had the effect of depriving the trial court of jurisdiction to proceed with the subsequent trial and convictions. If the court lacked jurisdiction to proceed, the subsequent trial, with its alleged errors, was a nullity and therefore not subject to our review.
This court has previously observed that “all of the cases hold that an appeal divests the trial court of jurisdiction over the case, but that presupposes that there is a valid appeal from an appealable order.” Euziere v. United States, 266 F.2d 88, 91 (10th Cir. 1959), vacated on other grounds, 364 U.S. 282, 80 S.Ct. 1615, 4 L.Ed.2d 1720 (1960) (emphasis added). See Arthur Andersen & Co. v. Finesilver, 546 F.2d 338, 340 (10th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1096, 97 S.Ct. 1113, 51 L.Ed.2d 543 (1977); Resnik v. La Paz Guest Ranch, 289 F.2d 814, 818 & n. 2 (9th Cir. 1961); 9 Moore’s Federal Practice H 203.11, at 734-40 (2d ed. 1975). The necessary corollary of the above rule is that “[a]n attempt to appeal a non-appealable order remains just that, an attempt. It is a nullity and does not invest the appellate court with jurisdiction, and consequently does not divest the trial court of its jurisdiction.” Euziere v. United States, 266 F.2d at 91. The critical questions for our consideration are: (1) whether the denial of appellants’ pretrial motion for dismissal on double jeopardy grounds is an “appealable order,” and (2) whether appellants made a “valid appeal.”
At the time appellants’ motion to dismiss the indictment on double jeopardy grounds was denied, this court had not decided whether such a denial was appealable. As noted above, five circuits had found this decision appealable, while two circuits had *825found it nonappealable. It is clear, however, that the trial court considered his decision on this motion to be nonappealable. See Record, vol. 4, at 187 — 91. In Abney the Supreme Court agreed with the position of the majority of circuit courts and held that “pretrial orders rejecting claims of former jeopardy . . . constitute ‘final decisions’ and thus satisfy the jurisdictional prerequisite of § 1291.” 431 U.S. at 662, 97 S.Ct. at 2042.
Since Abney was decided during the pendency of this appeal, appellants’ case falls within the ambit of the rule reiterated in Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U.S. 618, 627, 85 S.Ct. 1731, 1736, 14 L.Ed.2d 601 (1965), “that a change in law will be given effect while a case is on direct review.” This principle, first enunciated in United States v. Schooner Peggy, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 103, 110 (1801), applies to changes in case law, Carafas v. LaVallee, 391 U.S. 234, 241, 88 S.Ct. 1556, 20 L.Ed.2d 554 (1968), Vandenbark v. Owens-Illinois Glass Co., 311 U.S. 538, 541-43, 61 S.Ct. 347, 85 L.Ed. 327 (1941), as well as to statutory changes, Carpenter v. Wabash Ry., 309 U.S. 23, 60 S.Ct. 416, 84 L.Ed. 558 (1940), and adoption of constitutional amendments, United States v. Chambers, 291 U.S. 217, 54 S.Ct. 434, 78 L.Ed. 763 01934). Under Linkletter we are bound by the Abney decision. We must hold that the denial of appellants’ pretrial motion to dismiss the indictment on double jeopardy grounds is an appealable order.
Having decided that the pretrial order properly could be appealed to this court— thereby depriving the district court of jurisdiction to proceed with the case — we must decide whether appellants actually did make a valid appeal. We recently considered this very issue in Arthur Andersen & Co. v. Finesilver, 546 F.2d at 340-41, where we stated:
An unpublished opinion in No. 75-1297, Burnworth v. Salefish Incorporated, says that the filing of a notice of appeal deprives the district court of subject matter jurisdiction. See also 9 Moore’s Federal Practice 1203.11, pp. 735-740. In Euziere v. United States, 10 Cir., 266 F.2d 88, 91, vacated on other grounds, 364 U.S. 282, 80 S.Ct. 1615, 4 L.Ed.2d 1720, we said that the mentioned principle “presupposes that there is a valid appeal from an appealable order.”
The Circuits disagree on whether the filing of a notice of appeal automatically divests a district court of jurisdiction. Some cases hold that there is no retained jurisdiction. See e. g. First National Bank of Salem, Ohio v. Hirsch, 6 Cir., 535 F.2d 343, 345 n. 1; United States v. Lafko, 3 Cir., 520 F.2d 622, 627; and Williams v. Bernhardt Bros. Tugboat Service, Inc., 7 Cir., 357 F.2d 883, 884-885. See also Hovey v. McDonald, 109 U.S. 150, 157, 3 S.Ct. 136, 27 L.Ed. 888.
Other courts have held that a district court has some retained jurisdiction after a notice of appeal has been filed. Hodgson v. Mahoney, 1 Cir., 460 F.2d 326, 328, cert. denied 409 U.S. 1039, 93 S.Ct. 519, 34 L.Ed.2d 488, says that when a notice of appeal is “manifestly deficient” by reason of a non-appealable order or otherwise, the district court may disregard it and proceed with the case “[ojtherwise, a litigant could temporarily deprive a court of jurisdiction at any and every critical juncture.” In Ruby v. Secretary of United States Navy, 9 Cir., 365 F.2d 385, cert. denied 386 U.S. 1011, 87 S.Ct. 1358, 18 L.Ed.2d 442, the Ninth Circuit considered the problem in an en banc session. It held, Ibid. at 389, that if the notice of appeal is clearly invalid, the district court may ignore it. We are in essential agreement with the Ninth Circuit. If the notice of appeal is deficient by reason of untimeliness, lack of essential recitals, reference to a non-appealable order, or otherwise, the district court may ignore it and proceed with the case. If the district court is in doubt whether the notice of appeal is valid, it may decline to act further until disposition of the appeal. If the district court proceeds with the case under the mistaken belief that the notice of appeal is inoperative, the complaining party may seek relief from the court of appeals under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 and Rule 21, F.R.A.P.
*826Appellants unequivocally gave notice of appeal in this case which was not deficient by reason of untimeliness or lack of essential recitals. Its deficiency, if any, was its reference to an order the trial court held was nonappealable. Although the conflict in judicial authority on the issue of appealability was presented to the trial court, he did not decline to act further until disposition of the appeal. Rather, he proceeded with the case under the mistaken belief that the notice of appeal was inoperative. Although appellants apparently did not attempt to seek relief from the court of appeals under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 (1970) and Rule 21, Fed.R.App.P., as suggested in Arthur Andersen, their failure to do so cannot alter the fact that under Abney their notice of appeal was not deficient by reason of its reference to an order denying dismissal of the indictment on double jeopardy grounds.
The majority places great weight on the fact that, after giving notice of appeal, appellants did nothing more to “perfect” their appeal. Yet Rule 3, Fed.R.App.P., specifically states the “[fjailure of an appellant to take any step other than the timely filing of a notice of appeal does not affect the validity of the appeal.” Once the trial court acknowledged and denied appellants’ notice of appeal, they had no obligation to take any further procedural steps in order to “perfect” a valid appeal. See Walleck v. Hudspeth, 128 F.2d 343, 344 (10th Cir. 1942); 9 Moore’s Federal Practice 1203.12, at 740-42 (2d ed. 1975).
According to Euziere, appellants’ valid appeal from an appealable order terminated the district court’s jurisdiction and vested jurisdiction in the court of appeals. Since without jurisdiction the subsequent trial and convictions were a nullity, the judgment and sentences entered against appellants must be vacated.
This conclusion is supported by the only other circuit court opinion on this precise issue. In Moroyoqui v. United States, 570 F.2d 862 (9th Cir. 1977), the Ninth Circuit considered a case involving facts and trial court proceedings nearly identical to those now before us. There a mistrial was declared in the initial trial when the government introduced information prejudicial to appellant. Prior to the second trial the district court denied appellant’s motion to dismiss the indictment on double jeopardy grounds. The trial court and appellant “agreed that the appeal would be ‘lodged’ but no attempt would be made to pursue it at that time.” Id. at 863. Appellant then entered a guilty plea, but later appealed from his conviction, claiming that the Double Jeopardy Clause properly barred the second trial. Discussing the effect of Abney, which was decided during the pendency of the appeal, the Ninth Circuit held:
Applying Abney to our case, then, it is clear that when petitioner “lodged” his appeal from the trial court’s denial of his claim, jurisdiction was conferred upon the court of appeals. As a consequence the trial court was without power to proceed with the trial. Under the unusual circumstances of this case, the failure to pursue the appeal does not alter this result. We must, therefore, set aside the appellant’s conviction.
Id. at 864.
I would adopt both the reasoning and holding of Moroyoqui. Here written notice of appeal was not filed in the district court and no further steps were taken to “perfect” the appeal. However, like Moroyoqui, the court and appellants “agreed that the appeal would be ‘lodged’ but no attempt would be made to pursue it at that time.” Under the circumstances it would be, at the least, extremely inequitable to require more of appellants to find a valid appeal.
The majority opinion asserts that the primary purpose underlying the Abney decision is protection from a second trial. It then argues that since the second trial has already taken place this policy cannot be achieved, and that Abney is therefore not applicable. Such a holding is an open invitation to trial courts to disregard Abney. Under the majority opinion, trial courts may ignore a notice of appeal from a pretrial denial of motion to dismiss on double jeopardy grounds and proceed instead to trial secure in the knowledge that the court *827of appeals will not vacate the conviction for lack of jurisdiction. This result is precisely what the Supreme Court intended to eliminate when it explained in Abney that “the rights conferred on a criminal accused by the Double Jeopardy Clause would be significantly undermined if appellate review of double jeopardy claims were postponed until after conviction and sentence.” 431 U.S. at 660, 97 S.Ct. at 2041.
The focus of concern in Abney is not on the judicial diseconomy of a second trial but on the protection of individuals from multiple exposure to the risk of conviction and the accompanying public embarrassment, personal strain and expenses. The Supreme Court instructed:
To be sure, the Double Jeopardy Clause protects an individual against being twice convicted for the same crime, and that aspect of the right can be fully vindicated on an appeal following final judgment, as the Government suggests. However, this Court has long recognized that the Double Jeopardy Clause protects an individual against more than being subjected to double punishments. It is a guarantee against being twice put to trial for the same offense. . . . Because of this focus on the “risk” of conviction, the guarantee against double jeopardy assures an individual that, among other things, he will not be forced, with certain exceptions, to endure the personal strain, public embarrassment, and expense of a criminal trial more than once for the same offense. It thus protects interests wholly unrelated to the propriety of any subsequent conviction. . . . Obviously, these aspects of the guarantee’s protections would be lost if the accused were forced to “run the gauntlet” a second time before an appeal could be taken; even if the accused is acquitted, or, if convicted, has his conviction ultimately reversed on double jeopardy grounds, he has still been forced to endure a trial that the Double Jeopardy Clause was designed to prohibit. Consequently, if a criminal defendant is to avoid exposure to double jeopardy and thereby enjoy the full protection of the Clause, his double jeopardy challenge to the indictment must be reviewable before that subsequent exposure occurs.
431 U.S. 660-62, 97 S.Ct. 2041-2042 (emphasis in original).
Unless we vacate the conviction of the trial court, the fundamental policy of Abney to make a double jeopardy challenge to an indictment “reviewable before that subsequent exposure occurs,” would be utterly frustrated. While the majority emphasizes the need to protect appellants from personal strain, public embarrassment, and the expense of multiple criminal trials, appellants’ very appeal on this issue illustrates that these interests, while “wholly unrelated,” are yet secondary to the actual risk of conviction and punishment. Surely this court should not determine that appellants would rather serve their terms of imprisonment under the convictions of a second trial than suffer whatever personal strain, public embarrassment and expense might be associated with a third trial.
I agree with the majority that reprosecution of all appellants is not barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause. Inasmuch as re-prosecution is not inevitable, however, the proper disposition of this case under the rationale and holding of Abney is merely to reverse and set aside the appellants’ convictions.
Even assuming the district court had jurisdiction to proceed with the trial following appellants’ motion to dismiss the indictment on double jeopardy grounds, I would nevertheless reverse on the merits. I cannot agree with the majority holding that the warrantless arrests, searches and seizures were based upon probable cause or justified by exigent circumstances.
Section 878(3) of Title 21 U.S.C. authorizes DEA agents to make warrantless arrests if there is “probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing a felony.” In determining the validity of a warrantless “public” arrest, the necessary consideration is not “the existence of exigent circumstances, whether it was practicable to get a war*828rant, whether the suspect was about to flee, and the like,” but “whether there was probable cause for the arrest.” United States v. Watson, 423 U.S. 411, 417, 423-24, 96 S.Ct. 820, 824, 828, 46 L.Ed.2d 598 (1976). United States v. Santana, 427 U.S. 38, 42, 96 S.Ct. 2406, 49 L.Ed.2d 300 (1976), held that the threshold of one’s dwelling may be a “public” place, by defining as “public” any place where one does not have any reasonable expectation of privacy. The applicability of the Watson rule dispensing with the need to show exigent circumstances in order to have a valid warrantless arrest therefore turns on whether any of the defendants were in a “public” place at the time they were arrested.
Watson does not address the issue of a warrantless search. Thus, a warrantless search which is not conducted incident to a lawful arrest or with the consent of the accused is generally invalid, absent a showing of exigent circumstances. In any event, there must be probable cause, and probable cause has the same meaning in search cases as it does in arrest cases. Compare Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964) (search), with Giordenello v. United States, 357 U.S. 480, 78 S.Ct. 1245, 2 L.Ed.2d 1503 (1958) (arrest).
The record on appeal clearly indicates that DEA agents entered upon the private property of appellant Hanson not to conduct an investigation but to launch an attack that would produce arrests and uncover drugs suspected to be on the premises. One team of DEA agents, with weapons drawn immediately upon leaving the car, entered a barn or shed in back of the farmhouse, arrested Rumpf, and saw and smelled marijuana. Another team, with weapons similarly drawn, simultaneously apprehended appellants Hanson and Masters at the front door of the farmhouse. The prerequisite probable cause for any of the arrests or for a search of any part of the farm premises must therefore have existed prior to the agents’ strategic attacks on the private farm property. Immediately prior to the surprise attack, the facts and circumstances known to the agents were the following: (1) Two vehicles were observed turning off Interstate 40 onto State Road 117 at 4:00 p. m. on April 20,1976; (2) John Rumpf was known to be the driver of the Chevrolet van; (3) John Rumpf once rented a storage locker which, sometime subsequent to his abandonment thereof, was discovered to contain about an ounce of marijuana; (4) State Road 117 was believed to be an area frequented by narcotics smugglers, was called “Smuggler’s Alley” by people in the area, and was the scene of a marijuana-loaded airplane crash several months before; (5) at 7:00 a. m. on April 21, 1976, the same two vehicles were observed turning onto Interstate 40 from State Road 117, and proceeding toward Albuquerque; and (6) the camper-trailer towed behind one vehicle appeared to be “heavily loaded” since it swayed whenever it changed lanes. Although probable cause does not contemplate anything approaching guilt beyond reasonable doubt, it certainly must be something more than mere suspicion. Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 414, 89 S.Ct. 584, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969); Jones v. United States, 357 U.S. 493, 497, 78 S.Ct. 1253, 2 L.Ed.2d 1514 (1958); Nathanson v. United States, 290 U.S. 41, 46, 54 S.Ct. 11, 78 L.Ed. 159 (1933). Indeed, the facts and circumstances known to the agents in this case do not even rise to the level of those in Spinelli, which were found to be insufficient to constitute probable cause. The arrests and searches conducted here were based upon mere suspicion, not facts and circumstances that would warrant a man of prudence and caution in believing that the offense had been or was being committed. Since the core requirement of probable cause has not been satisfied, it is unnecessary to determine whether exigent circumstances existed or whether the barn or farmhouse were “public” property within the scope of Watson and Santana. The searches and arrests were invalid and appellants’ motion to suppress the illegal evidentiary fruit of the unlawful conduct was improperly denied.
The plain view and plain smell arguments advanced by the government and accepted by the majority are also without merit. The main consideration in applying either *829doctrine is to determine whether the observing officer has a right to be in a position to have that view or smell. E. g., Harris v. United States, 390 U.S. 234, 236, 88 S.Ct. 992, 19 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1968); United States v. Davis, 423 F.2d 974, 977 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 836, 91 S.Ct. 74, 27 L.Ed.2d 69 (1970). The court observed in Davis that these doctrines lend themselves to application in cases involving evidence recovered from automobiles located in public places “because the observing officer is not required to trespass on private property in order to have a clear view [or smell] of articles inside an automobile.” Id. On the other hand, where officers trespass in order to secure the view or smell the courts have not hesitated to find the search unreasonable. We have previously observed that “[t]he word ‘houses’ in the Fourth Amendment has been extended by the courts to include the curtilage,” and that “[i]f the investigators [physically breach] the curtilage there would be little doubt that any observations made therein would [be] proscribed.” Fullbright v. United States, 392 F.2d 432, 434-35 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 830, 89 S.Ct. 97, 21 L.Ed.2d 101 (1968). It is not asserted that the DEA agents saw or smelled any marijuana while they were surveilling the appellants along the highways, or that odors or views of marijuana were perceived by any agent pri- or to physically breaching the curtilage in which the farmhouse and adjacent barn were located. The smells and views came only after the agents had trespassed the protected area of the curtilage. The evidence thus discovered was inadmissible. It was not perceived by the eye or nose of an officer “who [had] a right to be in the position to have that view [or smell],” but was uncovered by an unreasonable search. Harris v. United States, 390 U.S. at 236, 88 S.Ct. at 993.
The Fourth Amendment:
was intended to protect against invasions of “the sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of life” . . . from searches under indiscriminate, general authority. Protection of these interests was assured by prohibiting all “unreasonable” searches and seizures, and by requiring the use of warrants, which particularly describe “the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized,” thereby interposing a “magistrate between the citizen and the police.”
Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 301, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 1647, 18 L.Ed.2d 782 (1967) (citations omitted). The probable cause requirement is the core requirement both of a reasonable warrantless arrest, search, or seizure and for obtaining a warrant authorizing such actions. Yet, it is obvious that Fourth Amendment protections are much more effectively guaranteed by the use of warrants issued by a neutral magistrate:
The point of the Fourth Amendment, which often is not grasped by zealous officers, is not that it denies law enforcement the support of the usual inferences which reasonable men draw from evidence. Its protection consists in requiring that those inferences be drawn by a neutral and detached magistrate instead of being judged by the officer engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime. Any assumption that evidence sufficient to support a magistrate’s disinterested determination to issue a search warrant will justify the officers in making a search without a warrant would reduce the Amendment to a nullity and leave the people’s homes secure only in the discretion of police officers. . . . When the right of privacy must reasonably yield to the right of search is, as a rule, to be decided by judicial officer, not by a policeman or Government enforcement agent.
Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 13-14, 68 S.Ct. 367, 369, 92 L.Ed. 436 (1948) (footnote omitted). Although the need for aggressive law enforcement, especially in drug cases, is obvious, the interests of society are much better served by a determination of probable cause prior to the arrest or search. There is great danger that the ultimate fruits of an unlawful search or arrest will unduly color the judgment of judicial officers who examine probable cause with hindsight. The tendency to *830evaluate the lawfulness of a search by the evidence it produces is especially strong in a case like this where 1500 pounds of marijuana are staring at the court. More troublesome than this specific case, however, are the cases we never decide in which the unlawful conduct of enforcement officials has resulted in serious invasions of privacy and harassment but has failed to produce the evidence necessary for a prosecution. We ought not encourage these judicially unseen invasions by relaxing the standards we apply to warrantless searches.
I recognize that many judges, in response to pressures from law enforcement officers, have developed special rules on probable cause in drug cases. These rules are justified on the basis of a quasi-national emergency caused by the “use and sale of illegal drugs [in] alarming proportions.” W. Ringle, Searches and Seizures, Arrests and Confessions § 173 (Supp.1977). I nevertheless share the concerns of Judge Richey:
While to some, the exigency of the drug situation may suggest that a loosening of the proscriptions of the Fourth Amendment is in order, this Court [should] not prostitute the protections of the Bill of Rights in the name of urgency or any other name. The battle to rid society of illicit drugs must be won within the framework of our Constitution lest we achieve a pyrrhic victory. The streets must be rid of the pusher, but not at the expense of justice, nor by compromise of individual liberty.
United States v. Costa, 356 F.Supp. 606, 609 (D.D.C.), aff’d, 156 U.S.App.D.C. 200, 203, 479 F.2d 921 (1973).