Court Opinion

ID: 9790672
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 01:57:14.65595+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:30.847321
License: Public Domain

*178EDMONDS, J.,
concurring.
The lead opinion finds it unnecessary to address defendant’s contention about the lawfulness of the seizure of his notebook from his pocket, because it holds that the initial perusal of the notebook, in order to confirm that it contained material sufficient to constitute a handwriting exemplar, was an illegal search. In his concurring opinion, Judge Warren would hold the seizure of the notebook unlawful. I disagree with both conclusions, but would hold that the subsequent warrantless examination of the notebook after it was' returned from the crime lab was unlawful. Therefore, I concur with the lead opinion’s result, albeit for a different reason.
THE LAWFULNESS OF THE SEIZURE OF THE NOTEBOOK
At the time the notebook was seized from defendant, the officers had probable cause to believe that defendant had unlawfully entered into a physician’s office, stolen stationery from the office, and had sent a series of letters on the stationery. They had in their possession two forged letters written on the stationery. However, the crime laboratory had been unable to identify defendant as the author because the letters did not contain enough cursive writing. It had specifically requested more cursive writing samples from defendant with which to make a comparison.
On the day in question, defendant was in court on another pending matter. During the court hearing, the detectives saw defendant writing in a spiral notebook, which he put in his shirt pocket at the end of the hearing. At the request of the prosecutor, the presiding judge ordered defendant to furnish a handwriting sample immediately after the conclusion of the hearing. As defendant left the courtroom at the conclusion of the hearing, the detectives approached him intending to place him under arrest for another pending charge and to escort him to the police station so he could provide the exemplar ordered by the court. Both defendant and his attorney advised the officers that defendant would not comply with the court order to provide the exemplar. As defendant was being placed under arrest, he motioned to his attorney to retrieve the notebook from his pocket. Before the *179attorney could comply with the request, one officer seized the notebook.
Judge Warren argues that the seizure was unlawful because he perceives the state as not making the argument that it had probable cause to seize the notebook as evidence and because he believes that the notebook was not seizable evidence. Both views are myopic. It is apparent from the state’s argument before the trial court, and the trial court’s ruling, that “[t]he detectives had probable cause to seize the documents,” that the argument made below in support of the lawfulness of the seizure was predicated on probable cause to believe that the notebook contained evidence of a crime. Before this court, and in reliance on the trial court’s ruling that probable cause to seize the notebook existed, the state proceeded to address the issue of exigent circumstances, the other prong of a lawful warrantless seizure. In summary, it is clear from the record, the briefs and oral argument that the state made the argument that probable cause existed to seize the notebook, and the issue is properly before us.
Second, the handwriting in the notebook is evidence of a crime. It is evidence that is relevant to the identification of defendant as the author of the forged documents and the person who broke into the physician’s office and stole the stationery. See State v. Garrett, 7 Or App 54, 57, 489 P2d 994 (1971) (holding that the seizure of documents identifying the defendant as their owner was relevant to connect him with the possession of seized narcotics found in the same place). Furthermore, defendant’s actions created the exigency necessary to justify the immediate seizure. Despite the court order that he furnish a handwriting sample, defendant and his attorney informed the detectives that defendant would disobey the order and defendant acted to dispose of the only evidence of his handwriting then available to the detectives. Under the circumstances, I would conclude that the seizure of the notebook was lawful because the officers had probable cause to believe that it contained evidence of the crime that they had been investigating and that the exigency created by defendant’s actions justified its immediate seizure.
*180THE INITIAL PERUSAL OF THE NOTEBOOK WAS NOT A SEARCH
Before sending the notebook to the crime lab for comparison, the officers looked through it to ascertain whether it contained specific letter combinations that matched the letter combinations in the forged letters. They then sent it together with other documents to the crime lab for examination. The issue is whether that brief perusal was an unreasonable search within the meaning of Article I, section 9, as the lead opinion concludes. Section 9 protects possessory and privacy interests. A search is an intrusion into a privacy interest of an individual by a governmental agent. “Not all government intrusions, however, trigger Article I, section 9, protections.” State v. Owens, 302 Or 196, 206, 729 P2d 524 (1986).
In this case, defendant’s notebook is personal property and served as a container for written material. Privacy interests in personal property depend on the nature and the characteristics of the property. For instance, “not all containers found by the police merit the same protection under Article I, section 9.” Id. Some containers announce their contents because they are transparent or because of their particular use. In State v. Herbert, 302 Or 237, 729 P2d 547 (1986), for example, the defendant was arrested on an outstanding warrant. He told the arresting officer that he wanted to retrieve some identification from the truck in which he had been riding. As the defendant reached for the identification, the officer saw the defendant attempt to hide an opaque paperfold made from a page torn out of a magazine. Based on his training and experience in the identification of controlled substances, the officer believed that the paperfold was a container for drugs. The officer seized the paperfold and took the defendant to jail. Later, he opened the paperfold and tested its contents without obtaining a search warrant. Subsequently, the defendant was indicted for possession of a controlled substance. He moved to suppress the contents of the paperfold on the basis that the search of the contents of the paperfold was warrantless. The court ruled:
“We have stated that the officer had probable cause to seize the paperfold and that the officer believed that the paperfold contained contraband. Because the officer, based *181upon his experience, had probable cause to believe that the paperfold contained contraband, he had the right to search the paperfold for controlled substance and, therefore, had the right to open that container. Once the container was opened, and the contraband discovered, he had the right to test it.” 302 Or at 243.
The court’s holding in Herbert adopts the rationale found in Owens and illustrates the rule that a “search” of the contents of a container does not occur under section 9 when the contents of what has been seized are apparent. The contents are discernible to the same extent as if they had been discovered in plain view outside the container. Therefore, no cognizable privacy interest exists that protects them from government inspection or testing for the limited purpose of confirming the police officer’s reasonable belief that they are what they purport to be. Owens, 302 Or at 207.
In this case, had defendant left his notebook open on the desk for anyone to read what he had written in it, he could claim no cognizable privacy interests in the fact that the notebook contained his handwriting. Similarly, when he wrote in his notebook in the courtroom, he announced to those there that the notebook contained a sample of his writing. While he retained a privacy interest in the words that he had written, his actions in the courtroom informed all who could observe that the notebook contained his writing in the same manner as the opaque paperfold in Herbert informed the officer who observed it of its contents.
The lead opinion concludes that despite the lawful seizure of the notebook, the police and the crime lab were required to obtain a search warrant before opening the notebook and confirming what the police had observed. That kind of reasoning was rejected when the Owens court distinguished the facts in State v. Lowry, 295 Or 337, 667 P2d 996 (1983), from the facts in Owens. In Lowry, a pill bottle was seized in the course of arresting the defendant for driving under the influence of intoxicants. The contents of the bottle were tested without the authorization of a search warrant. The court held that the search and the testing of the contents of the bottle violated section 9. The court pointed out that the facts in Lowry were distinguishable because, in Lowery, the arresting officer lacked probable cause to believe that the *182contents of the bottle contained a controlled substance. 302 Or at 206 n 4. It held:
“It is not a ‘search’ if the purpose of the test of a lawfully seized item is to confirm the presence of whatever the police have probable cause to believe is present in that item. A test for such a limited purpose does not infringe on any privacy interest protected by the Oregon Constitution.” 302 Or at 206. (Emphasis supplied.)
Here, the officers had observed defendant writing in the notebook and thus had probable cause to believe that the notebook contained the letter combinations needed by the crime lab to complete their handwriting comparison analysis. An examination to confirm that the notebook contained defendant’s handwriting is no more intrusive than the test of the opaque paperfold in Herbert. Consequently, Article I, section 9, did not require that the police obtain a warrant before opening the notebook for the limited purpose of confirming that fact. Once they lawfully seized the notebook, they were entitled to open it to confirm that it contained what they had probable cause to believe was there, i.e., defendant’s handwriting. To that extent, defendant had no privacy interest in the fact that the notebook contained his handwriting, and the lead opinion is wrong when it holds to the contrary.
THE DETECTIVES’ WARRANTLESS SEARCH OF THE NOTEBOOK AFTER IT WAS RETURNED FROM THE CRIME LAB CONSTITUTED A SEARCH
A lawful seizure does not necessarily authorize a search of the seized article for all purposes. The reason for the seizure may circumscribe the scope of the search, whether the seizure is based on probable cause to search, a search warrant or the consent of the possessor. In State v. Binner, 131 Or App 677, 886 P2d 1056 (1994), the defendant consented to the seizure of his blood for the limited purpose of testing it for blood alcohol content. Without a warrant, the police also tested the blood sample for a high THC (marijuana) level. We held that the defendant’s limited consent to test his blood for alcohol content did not manifest an intent to abandon his privacy interest in the blood sample and that his privacy interest continued even though the police were in possession of the sample. 131 Or App at 683. The point of Binner is that *183there can be more than one privacy interest in the contents of what has been seized.
In United States v. Wright, 667 F2d 793 (9th Cir 1982), officers searched the defendant’s home pursuant to a search warrant that authorized a search for and the seizure of a driver’s license belonging to a woman who lived in the same residence as the defendant. One of the officers executing the warrant found a ledger and opened it to determine if the license was in the ledger. The license was not there. However, knowing that the defendant had a reputation as a narcotics dealer, the officer took the ledger to another officer who had more expertise in investigating narcotics dealers. The second officer searched the ledger, found evidence of narcotics dealing, and seized it. In the resulting prosecution against the defendant, the defendant moved to suppress the ledger as evidence. The government sought to justify the seizure on the basis that the ledger was evidence of criminal conduct found in plain view. The court disagreed:
“We recognize that [the officer who initially looked through the ledger] upon finding the ledger, was justified in inspecting it to determine whether the license that was the subject of the warrant was hidden there. To check the ledger for the license, however, did not require the perusal of tbe ledger’s written contents. * * * Consequently, [the first officer] exceeded his authority to search for the license when he took the ledger to [the second officer] so-that he could inspect its contents. Similarly, [the second officer] had no right to read the ledger’s entries. The incriminating nature of the ledger was not ‘immediately apparent’ to [the second officer] but was revealed only after he carefully examined its contents.
“If it were permissible to inspect the contents of the ledger, officers acting under a search warrant for any specific item would be empowered to inspect minutely diaries, letters, films and all matter of private materials unrelated to the authorized scope of the search. To permit this type of conduct under the cloak of the plain view exception would be tantamount to enlarging the scope of any search to that of the ‘general warrant’ abhorred by the colonists. The Constitution protects against such intrusions. We hold that the trial court erred in failing to suppress the evidence of the black ledger.” Id. at 799.
An analysis similar to that employed in Binner and in Wright is applicable here. In Binner, the police lawfully *184obtained the blood sample by consent. In this case, the police lawfully seized defendant’s handwriting sample based on probable cause and exigent circumstances. In Binner, the scope of the resulting search was limited to the purpose for the seizure. Likewise, the detectives here perused defendant’s notebook for a limited purpose: to confirm that it contained the letter combinations needed to make the handwriting comparisons. But it does not necessarily follow that defendant, like Binner or Wright, forfeited other possessory or privacy interests in the notebook. The police had no probable cause to explore the content of defendant’s private writings. He had not exposed the content of what he had written to public view. After the authorities were through with the notebook for the limited purpose for which it had been seized, defendant was entitled to have it returned to him. ORS 133.623 et seq. Moreover, as in Wright, to the extent that the notebook contained entries that were not germane to the letter combinations that might lead to the identification of defendant as the author of the forged letters, defendant’s privacy interest in those entries continued despite that fact that the notebook was in the possession of the police.
It is noteworthy that the police did not seek a search warrant based on what they saw during their initial perusal. Although what they saw at that time led them to suspect that the notebook contained other information germane to their investigation, the affidavits in support of the issuance of the warrants were based on information that was derived from the second reading of the notebook. Nothing prevented the detectives from seeking authority from a magistrate for a further search of the notebook if in fact they had probable cause to believe that the notebook contained other evidence of crimes, and such an action would have insured that no further invasion of defendant’s private writings would have occurred absent probable cause for a search. In sum, the subsequent warrantless search exceeded the authority the police had to read the contents of the notebook to confirm the presence of letter combinations for purposes of handwriting comparisons. See State v. Gilbert, 276 Or 801, 556 P2d 651 (1976) (holding that officers executing a search warrant that specified certain other property were not authorized to open the engine compartment of an outboard motor to look for a *185serial number absent probable cause to believe that the motor was stolen). Therefore, I concur with the lead opinion’s result, but not with its reasoning. '