Court Opinion

ID: 9774832
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 18:35:02.450874+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:16.642161
License: Public Domain

Conley Byrd, Justice, dissenting. I agree with the majority the search warrant is invalid. I disagree with the majority opinion that the evidence here is sufficient to show that appellant Byars consented to the search of his automobile. The facts in the case before us show that appellant Byars was first arrested on the streets in the city of Brinkley and then placed in jail. After the officers obtained a search warrant, they removed appellant from the jail and took him to his automobile where the search warrant was served. On cross-examination of Sergeant Davidson at pages 169-170 of the record, the following occurred: “Q. Alright what statements did the defendant make there? A. Only the request that uh I don’t remember just what he did say but he indicated that he didn’t want a show, that he wanted to handle it quietly. He said ‘what you are looking for is in the car. ’ At this time and uh he want to embarrass his family and at this time we all loaded up, his car was driven to the police station by some officer. I don’t know who drove the car. Q. Let me ask you sir whether or not he was emphatic about not wanting to embarrass his family? A. To me yes sir he was emphatic. Q. That seemed to be a thing that was bearing on his mind? A. It was a concern of his, yes. Q. Would you say at that point that the matter of concern of his family of embarrassing his family, whatever the right term is, worrying them, embarrassing them, concerning them or whatever it may be was foremost in his mind? A. I couldn’t answer that. I don’t know what was foremost in his mind. Q. It was obviously toward the front of his mind? A. Yes sir, it was in his mind. Q. Because he was, you say, emphatic on that point? A. Yes. Q. Now do you remember his saying anything else? A. No sir. He was not asked anything pertaining to the case. I don’t recall him volunteering anything else.” Sergeant Davidson made a written return on the search warrant, stating as follows: “RETURN I received the attached search warrant 12-27-72 and have executed it as follows: On 12-27-72 at 10:00 a.m. I searched the premises described in the warrant and I left a copy of the Warrant with Danny M. Byars together with a receipt for the items seized. The following is an inventory of property taken pursuant to the warrant; 38 sealed packages of green vegetable matter, 2 partially filled plastic bags containing a green vegetable matter, 1 small scales, 1 pipe (smoking), 1 fuse box containing 8 orange colored pills and 2 pills wrapped in aluminum foil, and 1 small vial. This inventory was made in the presence of J. L. Neighbors and George Bethell. I swear that this inventory is a true and detailed account of all the property taken by me on the warrant. Signed by W. D. Davidson on 12-27-72.” To distinguish this case from our opinion in Hock v. State, 259 Ark. 67, 531 S.W. 2d 701 (1976), the majority relies upon Hoover v. Beto, 467 F. 2d 516 (5th Cir. 1972) and Earls v. State, 496 S.W. 2d 464 (Tenn. 1973). There is a substantial difference between those cases and this case. In both of those cases, the accused was at home and not under arrest when the search was made. Furthermore, both of those cases involved an invitation to search instead of an acquiescence to lawful authority. Hoover v. Beto, supra, involved the conviction of an experienced Texas criminal lawyer and former mayor of the City of Pasadena, Texas, as an accomplice to the crime of robbery. When the officer knocked at Hoover’s home and told him that he had a search warrant, Hoover told the officer, “that the search warrant was unnecessary, for [him] to come on in his house and look wherever [he] pleased.” Hoover acknowledged on appeal that the words he spoke constituted an invitation to the police to enter and search but argued: “The invitation which appellant extended to the searching officers to come into his house upon his being presented with that misrepresentation [the allegedly invalid search warrant] was induced by, and solely a product of, that misrepresentation. “Therefore any consent evidenced by that invitation could not have wholly been a product of the appellant’s free will.” The Fifth Circuit after recognizing the sufficiently clear and positive evidence test then held as follows: “. . . Our own view of the testimony is that when attorney Sam Hoover told Police Officer Hodges that his warrant was not necessary and to come on into his home and search wherever he wanted, this constituted clear and convincing evidence of voluntary consent to the search, irrespective of the validity of the warrant. Hoover voluntarily consented to and invited the search. That consent was neither coerced nor compelled by the search warrant. The argument that express declarations of invitations and consent, such as were present here, constitute nothing ‘more than acquiescence to a claim of lawful authority’ neither comports with reason and logic nor with human experience and common sense. “The dissent filed herein is merely a lengthy restatement of the views of the panel in the original decision in this case. We are impelled, however, to make further elaboration of the majority opinion because of what we consider to be erroneous statements of law and fact in the dissent. “As to the alternative question of Hoover having voluntarily consented to the search and, in fact, having invited it, the dissent insists that Bumper v. State of North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 88 S. Ct. 1788, 20 L. Ed. 2d 797 (1968), to which we have already referred, is expressed in absolute terms and consent to search is legally impossible where an invalid search warrant is presented. Curiously, in making this assertion the dissent appears to abandon that part of the original panel decision which asserted that ‘while it is possible to give valid consent to search even after the existence of the warrant is made known, the State must show by clear and convincing evidence that the consent is not based upon the warrant and was not coerced by any other factors’ and further stated, ‘It is conceivable that a person could give a voluntary and uncoerced consent to search even though he had been informed that the officers had a search warrant. But the State would bear the burden of showing that the consent was given sufficiently independent of the warrant to remove the taint of its coercive nature.’ 439 F. 2d at 920. In our opinion the panel’s holding in this regard, rather than the present dissent, correctly states the law. Resolution of the question of consent and invitation to search under such circumstances is dependent upon the facts of each case. Bumper was decided on its facts which are substantially dissimilar to those facts of this case, as we have already pointed out. Yet the dissent argues that ‘Nowhere does Bumper draw a distinction, as the majority in this case seemingly does, between an invitation and acquiescence.’ The answer to this argument is plain — Bumper did not involve an invitation, such as occurred here.” Consequently, as can be seen in Hoover v. Beto, supra, relied upon by the majority, there was an “invitation” to search by a seasoned and experienced criminal lawyer. The next opinion upon which the majority relies is Earls v. State, 496 S.W. 2d 464 (Tenn. 1973). There the defendant was not under arrest, and when the sheriff handed him a copy of the warrant and began reading the original, Earls threw his copy to the ground and stated: “You needn’t to have brought a search warrant. You gentlemen are welcome to search anywhere on my premises you want to search and take anything you find.” The Tennessee Supreme Court, after stating a preference for Justice Black’s dissent in Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543 (1968), stated its understanding of the Bumper decision to be as follows, to wit: “We believe that the Bumper case stands for the proposition that it is possible to give valid consent to search even after the existence of the warrant is made known, but the State must show by clear and convincing evidence that the consent is not based upon the warrant and was not coerced by other factors. It is conceivable that a person could give a voluntary and uncoerced consent to search even though he had been informed that the officers had a search warrant, but the State would bear the burden of showing that the consent was sufficiently independent of the warrant to remove the taint of its coercive nature.” The Tennessee Court, after reviewing the conduct of Earls and his statement when the sheriff started reading the original warrant, then concluded: “. . . Earls voluntarily consented to and invited the search. That consent was neither coerced nor compelled by the search warrant. ...” In Hock v. State, 259 Ark. 67, 531 S.W. 2d 701 (1976), the issue was whether the State had sustained its burden of showing consent. We there pointed out: “The latest expression with reference to the burden cast upon the State to show consent to search is contained in Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 88 S. Ct. 1788, 20 L. Ed. 2d 797 (1968), where it is stated: ‘When a prosecutor seeks to rely upon consent to justify the lawfulness of a search, he has the burden of proving that the consent was, in fact, freely and voluntarily given. This burden cannot be discharged by showing no more than acquiescence to a claim of lawful authority. A search conducted in reliance upon a warrant cannot later be justified on the basis of consent if it turns out that the warrant was invalid. The result can be no different when it turns out that the State does not even attempt to rely upon the validity of the warrant, or fails to show that there was, in fact, any warrant at all.’ The Supreme Court, in Bumper, supra, cited Judd v. United States, 190 F. 2d 649 (D.C. Cir. 1951), favorably as indicating the extent of the burden placed upon the State to show consent. With reference to searches and seizures made without a proper warrant, the Court in Judd v. United States, supra said: ‘Searches and seizures made without a proper warrant are generally to be regarded as unreasonable and violative of the Fourth Amendment. True, the obtaining of the warrant may on occasion be waived by the individual; he may give his consent to the search and seizure. But such a waiver or consent must be proved by clear and positive testimony, and it must be established that there was no duress or coercion, actual or implied. . . . The Government must show a consent that is ‘unequivocal and specific’ . . . ‘freely and intelligently given.’. . . Thus ‘invitations’ to enter one’s house, extended to armed officers of the law who demand entrance, are usually to be considered as invitations secured by force. . . . Intimidation and duress are almost necessarily implicit in such situations; if Government alleges their absence, it has the burden of convincing the court that they are in fact absent.” In Schneckloth v. Bustamante, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S. Ct. 2041, 36 L. Ed. 2d 854 (1973), the issue before the Court was what the prosecution must prove to demonstrate that a consent, given by one not under arrest, was voluntary. In holding that voluntary consent did not require a Miranda warning, the Court, with respect to “coercion” or “consent”, stated: “But the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments require that a consent not be coerced, by explicit or implicit means, by implied threat or covert force. For, no matter how subtly the coercion was applied, the resulting ‘consent’ would be no more than a pretext for the unjustified police intrusion against which the Fourth Amendment is directed. In the words of the classic admonition in Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616, 635: ‘It may be that it is the obnoxious thing in its mildest and least repulsive form; but illegitimate and unconstitutional practices get their first footing in that way, namely, by silent approaches and slight deviations from legal modes of procedure. This can only be obviated by adhering to the rule that constitutional provisions for the security of person and property should be liberally construed. A close and literal construction deprives them of half their efficacy, and leads to gradual depreciation of the right, as if it consisted more in sound than in substance. It is the duty of courts to be watchful for the constitutional rights of the citizen, and against any stealthy encroachments thereon.’ The problem of reconciling the recognized legitimacy of consent searches with the requirement that they be free from any aspect of official coercion cannot be resolved by any infallible touchstone. To approve such searches without the most careful scrutiny would sanction the possibility of official coercion; to place artificial restrictions upon such searches would jeopardize their basic validity. Just as was true with confessions, the requirement of a ‘voluntary’ consent reflects a fair accommodation of the constitutional requirements involved. In examining all the surrounding circumstances to determine if in fact the consent to search was coerced, account must be taken of subtly coercive police questions, as well as the possibly vulnerable subjective state of the person who consents. Those searches that are the product of police coercion can thus be filtered out without undermining the continuing validity of consent searches. In sum, there is no reason for us to depart in the area of consent searches, from the traditional definition of ‘voluntariness.’ ” In McCreary v. Sigler, 406 F. 2d 1264 (8th Cir. 1969), one Officer Parker arrived at an apartment with an invalid search warrant. When one Mr. Bradbury, the occupant, was advised that the officers had a search warrant, he got up to get a drink and then said: “You don’t need it. Go ahead and search. I pay the rent here. ” In holding the warrant invalid, the Eighth Circuit (Matthes, Gibson and Lay) stated: “Upon reconsideration of Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 88 S. Ct. 1788, 20 L. Ed. 2d 797 (1968), decided subsequent to the district court’s findings of ‘consent’ below, we hold that any consent given by Bradbury must be viewed as ‘impliedly coerced.’ The Supreme Court has expressly held that ‘ “consent” * * * given only after the official conducting the search has asserted he possesses a warrant’ is not a valid consent when the only showing is ‘no more than acquiescence to a claim of lawful authority.’ Id. at 548-549, 88 S. Ct. at 1792. The facts supporting ‘voluntary consent’ are much stronger in Bumper than here. See 391 U.S. at 547 n. 8, 88 S. Ct. 1788 n. 8. The Supreme Court, however, has made clear: ‘When a law enforcement officer claims authority to search a home under a warrant, he announces in effect that the occupant has no right to resist the search. The situation is instinct with coercion — albeit colorably lawful coercion. Where there is coercion there cannot be consent.’ Id. at 550, 88 S. Ct. at 1792. See also Overton v. New York, 393 U.S. 85, 89 S. Ct. 252, 21 L. Ed. 2d 218 (1968) (per curiam). An officer must have a legal basis for obtaining access to private living quarters under the badge of his office and the authority of the law. The clear logic of this rule is that a search conducted by reason of consent given upon representation of a warrant validly issued will not be lawful unless the warrant itself was validly issued.” I submit that whether you follow the line of authorities cited by the majority or the ruling of the Eighth Circuit in McCreary v. Sigler, 406 F. 2d 1264 (1969), there is not sufficient proof in this record to sustain the State’s burden of proving a consent to search — i.e. by clear and positive evidence. For the reasons stated, I respectfully dissent. Holt, J., joins in this dissent.