Court Opinion

ID: 9607706
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 03:01:25.237402+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:02:39.771215
License: Public Domain

*14Dolliver, C.J.
(dissenting)—The majority holds the seizure of defendant Michael Kennedy did not violate the narrowly drawn warrantless search and seizure exception set forth in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 88 S. Ct. 1868 (1968). The majority also holds the informant's tip on which the seizure was based was predicated upon articulable suspicion. In my opinion, the majority has incorrectly perceived the scope of a permissible Terry stop and unnecessarily relaxes our well established standards governing articulable suspicion for informant tips. I therefore dissent on the grounds that the seizure of defendant Kennedy violated the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution and article 1, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution. Since the seizure of Michael Kennedy was unlawful, the evidence seized under the plain view doctrine must be excluded. State v. Lesnick, 84 Wn.2d 940, 942, 530 P.2d 243, cert. denied, 423 U.S. 891 (1975). I would reverse the trial court.
I
Fifteen years ago, Judge Henry J. Friendly prophetically warned that the stop and frisk exception to the Fourth Amendment in Terry had the grave potential for abuse in the case of possessory crimes. Williams v. Adams, 436 F.2d 30, 38 (2d Cir. 1970) (Friendly, J., dissenting), rev'd on rehearing, 441 F.2d 394 (1971), rev'd, 407 U.S. 143 (1972). The present case is just such a situation. The facts of this case are not amenable to a Terry analysis. The majority regrettably puts its seal of approval on a seizure which, although fruitful in result due to the plain view doctrine, is inconsistent with the purpose for which Terry was envisioned.
The "Terry-type stop” has its roots in the principle of crime prevention. 3 W. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 9.2, at 19 (1978). As stated by the United States Supreme Court, the purpose of Terry was to enable "a police officer ... in appropriate circumstances and in an appropriate manner [to] approach a person for purposes of investigating *15possibly criminal behavior even though there is no probable cause to make an arrest." Terry, at 22.
In the almost two decades since Terry, there has been a gradual expansion of its original limited purpose of crime prevention to crime detection and investigation. 3 W. LaFave § 9.2, at 21 (1978). In Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 32 L. Ed. 2d 612, 92 S. Ct. 1921 (1972), for example, the Court upheld a Terry search of an individual who was suspected of being in possession of a weapon and contraband. Although Adams may be characterized as a case expanding Terry stops into the sphere of crime detection, the Court nevertheless noted the rationale of the Terry stop:
A brief stop of a suspicious individual, in order to determine his identity or to maintain the status quo momentarily while obtaining more information, may be most reasonable in light of the facts known to the officer at the time.
(Italics mine.) Adams, at 146.
The "maintaining the status quo" rationale runs throughout post-Terry cases. In United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 66 L. Ed. 2d 621, 101 S. Ct. 690 (1981), for example, border patrol officers had been tracking an unknown individual who wore shoes which left a distinctive chevron mark in the earth near the Mexico-United States border. The individual, referred to as "Chevron", was suspected of operating a guide service in which he would smuggle illegal aliens into the United States from Mexico. Elaborate police work led the officers to believe Chevron would appear at a certain time and place with a group of illegal aliens. The officers set up a stakeout and stopped the only vehicle which was leaving this particular area. At the outset of its opinion upholding a Terry stop of Chevron's car, the Court stated:
The limited purpose of the stop in this case was to question the occupants of the vehicle about their citizenship and immigration status and the reasons for the *16round trip in a short timespan in a virtually deserted area.
Cortez, at 421.
In United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 45 L. Ed. 2d 607, 95 S. Ct. 2574 (1975), the Court upheld the right of the border patrol to stop randomly cars which reasonably appear to be suspicious for the limited purpose of questioning occupants as to their citizenship. In granting this right, the Court again stressed the purpose of the stop was not to search the car but was to "question the driver and passengers about their citizenship and immigration status, and he [a member of the border patrol] may ask them to explain suspicious circumstances ..." Brignoni-Ponce, at 881-82. Accord, United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 227-29, 83 L. Ed. 2d 604, 105 S. Ct. 675 (1985) (police officers may conduct Terry stop of individual suspected of participating in robbery 2 weeks earlier based on "wanted flyer" for the purpose of asking questions and securing identification).
Our cases interpreting the Fourth Amendment and article 1, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution similarly confirm the limited purpose of a Terry stop to be for stopping and questioning. In State v. Williams, 102 Wn.2d 733, 689 P.2d 1065 (1984), for example, one factor which led the court to invalidate the Terry seizure of a person who was in the area of a burglary was the fact that he had been detained not for questioning but so the police could gather evidence against him. Similarly, in State v. White, 97 Wn.2d 92, 640 P.2d 1061 (1982), we invalidated a "stop and identify" statute on the grounds it gave the police more authority to stop, detain, and question citizens than was provided for by Terry.
That the purpose of a Terry stop is for limited investigatory questioning is further demonstrated by the principle that once the stopping officer has ascertained the identity of the suspect and the nature of his conduct, that officer may not continue to question the suspect in an exploratory manner. The rationale for this principle is that the war-*17rantless stop becomes "unreasonable" when the question is no longer founded on a reasonable suspicion. See United States v. Kenney, 573 F.2d 657 (9th Cir. 1978); Commonwealth v. Ferrara, 376 Mass. 502, 381 N.E.2d 141 (1978); Madison v. State, 171 Ind. App. 492, 357 N.E.2d 911 (1976); People v. Carrasquillo, 54 N.Y.2d 248, 429 N.E.2d 775, 445 N.Y.S.2d 97 (1981).
The purpose of the minimally intrusive Terry stop, therefore, is to allow the police to make an intermediate response to a situation for which there is no probable cause to arrest but which calls for further investigation. As the Terry Court noted, a temporary seizure must be "reasonably related in scope to the justification for [its] initiation." Terry, at 29. Accord, State v. Williams, at 740 ("purpose of the stop [must be] related to petitioner's detention"); Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 60 L. Ed. 2d 824, 99 S. Ct. 2248 (1979) (concept of stop is not broad enough to encompass all detentions short of arrest).
The logical corollary to this is that if, at its inception, there is nothing which reasonably and in good faith can be ascertained during a Terry stop, the stop is unreasonable. A Terry stop was never envisioned to be a fishing expedition for evidence. The seizure must relate to and further the purpose for which the seizure was originally created: preventing a crime, ascertaining information, identifying the suspect, or otherwise maintaining the status quo. See State v. Williams, at 738.
The reason it is necessary to limit strictly the number of circumstances under which a Terry stop may be used as an investigative tool is because it is an exception to the general rule requiring search warrants and probable cause. See Williamson, The Dimensions of Seizure: The Concepts of "Stop and Arrest", 43 Ohio St. L.J. 771, 805 (1982). Although not always clear, there is a line separating a legitimate Terry detention from an arrest. A Terry detention becomes unlawful when no justification exists at its inception or when it becomes a method to procure self-incriminating interrogation in a custodial setting. In that event, a *18Terry detention is no longer justified as a means of "preserving the status quo". State v. Williams, at 745 (Dimmick, J., dissenting) (citing Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 701-02, 69 L. Ed. 2d 340, 101 S. Ct. 2587 (1981)). See also Williamson, The Dimensions of Seizure, at 813.
The present case is a striking example of a Terry stop which does not appear to have been made in furtherance of its allowable purpose. Since Detective Sergeant Leonard L. Adams had been investigating the defendant for several months prior to the Terry stop, had known the defendant for approximately 13 years, and unmistakably knew who he was at the time of the stop, the "identification" function of Terry could not possibly have been furthered by the seizure. In addition, since Adams had received information from at least two sources suggesting the defendant purchased marijuana from Smith, the "explanation" function of Terry similarly could not have been furthered.
The seizure of Kennedy cannot be characterized properly as a Terry stop; rather, it was a warrantless arrest. The motive for the seizure appears to have been the fortuitous possibility that contraband would appear in plain view, there would be a furtive gesture, or the defendant would confess his guilt. This court should not condone seizures on fortuity.
The majority asserts the search in the instant case has support in Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 32 L. Ed. 2d 612, 92 S. Ct. 1921 (1972). In Adams a police officer received information from a reliable informant that the defendant, who was sitting in his car, was armed and in possession of heroin. Immediately thereafter, the officer approached the car in which the defendant was sitting and performed a Terry stop and frisk. I believe the majority reads Adams too broadly. It only gives the police the authority to respond to situations which unexpectedly arise and which require immediate police response. The police officer in Adams received information the defendant was in actual possession of an unlawful substance. No such exigency exists here. Detective Sergeant Adams was not acting *19on a "hot" tip that the defendant was committing or was about to commit a crime. Rather, he was acting upon information that the defendant had a pattern of committing and would at some future time commit a crime. Accord, People v. Tooks, 403 Mich. 568, 271 N.W.2d 503 (1978) (police investigation followed immediately after receipt of information that defendant carried a weapon).
In disapproving of the Terry stop in this case, I do not intend to discourage law enforcement officers from acting on reports of suspicious activity which, due to their training, suggest criminal conduct is afoot. I do not approve, however, of the use of a Terry stop in a case in which there was information only that a crime would be committed in the future, the officer personally does not witness the commission of the crime, the "suspect" is known to the police, and no exigency exists justifying the suspect's immediate detention.
Defendant Kennedy was under investigation and his arrest could have been secured through proper police channels, e.g., the warrant procedure, when the time was ripe. A Terry stop is a limited investigatory and preventative tool. It was never intended to be a substitute for a search for which there is no probable cause to obtain a warrant.
II
I likewise dissent to the majority's conclusion that the seizure of defendant Kennedy was based on an articulable suspicion. An informant's tip must have a "sufficient 'indicia of reliability.'" State v. Sieler, 95 Wn.2d 43, 47, 621 P.2d 1272 (1980) (citing Adams v. Williams, supra; State v. Lesnick, 84 Wn.2d 940, 943, 530 P.2d 243, cert. denied, 423 U.S. 891 (1975)). Reliability is resolved in a 2-pronged analysis. The informant must be reliable or there must be some corroborative observation which suggests either the presence of criminal activity or that the informant's information was obtained in some reliable fashion. Sieler, at 47.
This case involves two informants, the neighbors who complained of pedestrian traffic at the Smith home, and the *20unidentified informant. While reliability is not usually a concern with regard to citizen tips, the information offered by citizens must nevertheless be supported by other facts. State v. Chatmon, 9 Wn. App. 741, 746-47, 515 P.2d 530 (1973). In the present case, the record does not contain the names of the neighbors or when they complained. The record does not indicate the neighbors saw the defendant leaving the Smith home. Furthermore, the reports by the neighbors of high pedestrian traffic into the Smith home were not corroborated independently by police observation. While high pedestrian traffic may, to the trained eye of the police, indicate drug dealing activity, complaints by citizens of innocuous conduct must be corroborated by police observation prior to a seizure. W. Ringel, Searches and Seizures, Arrests and Confessions § 13.4(b) (1984).
The majority's analysis of the reliability of the informant's tip is likewise misplaced. Admittedly, the informant was known to Adams and that person apparently provided reliable information in the past as to a different defendant. Thus, the "veracity" prong of the reasonable suspicion test is satisfied. Nevertheless, the informant's tip must be based on specific and articulable facts. United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 227, 83 L. Ed. 2d 604, 105 S. Ct. 675 (1985); Sieler, at 48; State v. Jackson, 102 Wn.2d 432, 437, 688 P.2d 136 (1984). In Hensley, for example, the Court held a police officer, acting on a "wanted poster" issued by a different police department, had reasonable suspicion to perform a Terry stop on an individual who matched the person contained in the poster. In upholding the Terry stop, however, the Court noted numerous times that the wanted poster, though based on an informant tip, was issued on the basis of specific and articulable facts. Hensley, at 232-33. Specifically, the Hensley Court stated that the informant possessed a "wealth of detail concerning the robbery" and had participated tangentially in the robbery. Hensley, at 234.
Furthermore, in Sieler we held a tip by an informant, even though named, did not establish reasonable suspicion *21when the informant merely reported that a drug transaction had just taken place and identified the car in which the transaction allegedly took place. We noted that the informant did not state what he saw nor did the police independently corroborate the informant's observations. Sieler, at 49.
In the present case, the informant did not admit participation in the crime. The only information the record contains as to how the informant arrived at the conclusion the defendant regularly purchased contraband from Smith is that the defendant told him so. While hearsay may under certain circumstances satisfy the credibility prong of the Aguilar-Spinelli test (Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 12 L. Ed. 2d 723, 84 S. Ct. 1509 (1964); Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 21 L. Ed. 2d 637, 89 S. Ct. 584 (1969)), the hearsay must be corroborated by knowledge of the essential facts connecting the defendant with the crime. State v. Jackson, at 437-38 (citing United States v. Carmichael, 489 F.2d 983, 986-87 (7th Cir. 1973); State v. Yaw, 58 Hawaii 485, 572 P.2d 856 (1977)). Hearsay is not corroborated by mere evidence the informant has some knowledge of the suspect's affairs.
The only "facts" supporting the hearsay are that the defendant (1) regularly purchased drugs from Smith; (2) used a certain car for pickups; and (3) never socialized with Smith. These "facts" do not constitute a "wealth of detail", Hensley, at 234, nor do they evince personal knowledge of the defendant's role in this crime. On the contrary, they constitute "'innocuous details', commonly known facts or easily predictable events ..." State v. Jackson, at 438; State v. Sieler, at 50. Furthermore, the tip was not corroborated by Adams' personal observation since he did not see the defendant leave Smith's home with anything in his hands. He observed only the nonincriminating act of defendant getting into his car. Sieler, at 50. See also People v. Tooks, 403 Mich. 568, 583, 271 N.W.2d 503 (1978) (Kavanagh, C.J., dissenting). Finally, we do not know when the tip was received. It very well may have been stale at the *22time at which it was executed. State v. Higby, 26 Wn. App. 457, 613 P.2d 1192 (1980). The only real evidence of informant credibility appears to be Adams' assertion that his informant was correct in the past and was known to him personally. This dangerously reduces the credibility prong of Aguilar to nothing more than nonanonymity. See 3 W. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 9.3, at 97-98 (1978).
Although impliedly acknowledging the suspicion on which the Terry stop was based falls short of that required by Sieler and State v. Lesnick, 84 Wn.2d 940, 530 P.2d 243, cert. denied, 423 U.S. 891 (1975), the majority nevertheless holds that the tip was reliable because there was corroborating evidence. The primary corroborating evidence cited by the majority is the "fact" that Smith's neighbors had been complaining of high pedestrian traffic in the area. Majority opinion, at 8.
In holding the neighbors' complaints corroborated the informant tip, the majority states it is merely applying a "substantial possibility” test to discern whether an unlawful act has taken place. Majority opinion, at 6 (citing 3 W. LaFave, § 9.3, at 65). The majority seems to suggest that in the area of Terry stops based on informant tips, LaFave's "substantial possibility" test replaces the Aguilar-Spinelli test as the standard by which the tip is judged. The majority has misread this commentator's application of the substantial possibility test.
The substantial possibility test was proposed by LaFave as a standard which satisfies Terry's language allowing a police officer to initiate a Terry stop if he reasonably believes a crime "may be afoot", i.e., a crime has occurred, is occurring or is about to occur. 3 W. LaFave § 9.3, at 65. As I read this commentator, the test was suggested as a standard by which police could react to situations in which they personally observed unlawful conduct; it was never intended by LaFave to replace the Aguilar-Spinelli test as a test which applies to suspicions which are based solely on informant tips. The examples cited by LaFave all involve direct police observation of crimes taking place. Further*23more, in his discussion of Terry stops based on informant tips, LaFave questions the relaxation by the Supreme Court of the Aguilar-Spinelli test in the stop and frisk context. 3 W. LaFave § 9.3, at 98. The majority erroneously applies LaFave's "substantial possibility" test to analyze the reliability of the informant's information when the test rather appears to be set forth as a standard to measure a police officer's belief that a crime had just occurred.
Although not conceding it, the majority rejects the use of the Aguilar-Spinelli test and is in actuality applying a "totality of the circumstances" test to analyze level of suspicion necessary to justify a Terry stop. In the Terry context, this "test" first appeared in Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 147, 32 L. Ed. 2d 612, 92 S. Ct. 1921 (1972), in which the Court held that Terry stops could be based on hearsay informant tips so long as the circumstances generally corroborated the hearsay tip. The Court noted:
But in some situations—for example, when the victim of a street crime seeks immediate police aid and gives a description of his assailant, or when a credible informant warns of a specific impending crime—the subtleties of the hearsay rule should not thwart an appropriate police response.
There apparently exists a split of federal authority on the question of whether the Aguilar-Spinelli test applies to Terry stops. Compare United States v. Gorin, 564 F.2d 159, 161 (4th Cir. 1977) ("[t]he high standard for informant reliability established in Aguilar and Spinelli simply does not apply when the detectives needed only 'reasonable suspicion,' rather than 'probable cause,' to justify their actions"), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1080 (1978) and United States v. Hernandez, 486 F.2d 614 (7th Cir. 1973) (same), cert. denied, 415 U.S. 959 (1974) with United States v. McLeroy, 584 F.2d 746, 748 (5th Cir. 1978) (anonymous informant tip does not create reasonable suspicion) and United States v. Robinson, 536 F.2d 1298 (9th Cir. 1976) (same). The United States Supreme Court has not, to date, reviewed the question although there exist two dissents *24from the Court's denial of review of cases presenting the issue. See United States v. White, 648 F.2d 29 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 924 (1981) (White, J., dissenting) and State v. Jernigan, 377 So. 2d 1222 (La. 1979), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 958 (1980) (White, J., dissenting). Cf. State v. Jackson, 102 Wn.2d 432, 688 P.2d 136 (1984) (court refuses to relax the stringent Aguilar-Spinelli requirements in the case of a search warrant).
In cases, such as this one, in which an informant tip is based on hearsay, unsupported by specific and articulable facts, neither based on nor corroborated by the informant's intimate knowledge of the incriminating details, and not corroborated by direct police observation of unlawful conduct, the strict Aguilar-Spinelli test should not be relaxed to a nebulous "totality of the circumstances" test. Under these circumstances, and generally in possession cases, the risk of a fabricated informant tip bolstered by hindsight is simply too great. See 3 W. LaFave § 9.3, at 102. I believe we rejected the totality of the circumstances test in Sieler, where we cited with approval both McLeroy and a leading commentator criticizing the abandonment by Adams v. Williams of the Aguilar-Spinelli test in the Terry stop context. State v. Sieler, 95 Wn.2d 43, 48, 621 P.2d 1272 (1980) (citing 3 W. LaFave § 9.3, at 99-100). See also United States v. Hensley, supra (an unidentified informant's tip was reliable and credible since the informant was both a participant in the crime and possessed a "wealth of details" about the crime).
Furthermore, we have noted in the past that the seriousness of the crime is a consideration in the question of whether the strict requirements for informant reliability should be relaxed. State v. Lesnick, 84 Wn.2d 940, 944-45, 530 P.2d 243, cert. denied, 423 U.S. 891 (1975), quoted in 3 W. LaFave § 9.3, at 103 (informant tip about illegal gambling games). This reflects the principle in search and seizure law that a warrantless intrusion into the privacy of our citizens becomes less justified as the importance of the governmental interest diminishes. See United States v. *25Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 228, 83 L. Ed. 2d 604, 105 S. Ct. 675 (1985) (governmental interest in preventing crime stronger than interest in investigating already completed crime, and thus, warrantless seizure more justifiable in former). The crime at issue in this case, possession of marijuana, is not so serious as to warrant a warrantless seizure.
However, even if a totality of the circumstances test is appropriate in analyzing Terry seizures, I disagree with the majority's conclusion that the complaints by the neighbors satisfactorily corroborate the informant's tip. The neighbors' complaints do not reliably corroborate the tip because the neighbors' complaints do not specifically mention the defendant, there is no indication when the complaints were made, and the complaints were not independently corroborated by the police. State v. Sieler, at 48-49. Cf. People v. Tooks, 403 Mich. 568, 271 N.W.2d 503 (1978) (tip by anonymous citizen sufficient for Terry purposes since neighbor described suspect with specificity and information was independently verified by police on the scene). Without casting doubt on the integrity of Detective Sergeant Adams, there is simply too much risk of fabrication in this evidence. See 3 W. LaFave § 9.3, at 102.
Ill
In the interest of articulating clearly search and seizure laws under which our law enforcement officers may guide their actions, I summarize what I believe are the rules governing a seizure such as the one in the present case. Information received from an unidentified source stating a person has committed, is committing, or will commit a crime, must meet the reliability and credibility criteria set forth in part II of this opinion. Summarizing these criteria, the information must be based on specific and articulable facts which are (1) corroborated by a wealth of details describing noninnocuous conduct, or (2) corroborated by independent observation by the police. If these criteria are met, an officer may initiate a Terry stop.
Even though the above criteria may be satisfied, a Terry *26stop is not always a permissible intrusion. In the case of an ongoing investigation of a person for whom there exists a suspicion that the person is regularly engaged in an unlawful activity, the officer may only perform a Terry stop of that person under the following circumstances: if the officer reasonably and in good faith believes the stop will provide information not currently possessed regarding the person's role in the suspected crime. Terry stops may not be initiated upon an officer's mere suspicion, as opposed to probable cause belief, that a person is in possession of an unlawful substance. In cases such as the present one where the defendant's identity and the nature of his allegedly illegal conduct are known to the police officer, a Terry stop may not be conducted. Rather, the appropriate police response is to corroborate personally or otherwise investigate the suspicion until evidence develops which is sufficient to procure a search or arrest warrant.
Pearson and Callow, JJ., concur with Dolliver, C.J.