Court Opinion

ID: 9747094
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 14:56:34.127105+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:19.988039
License: Public Domain

Concurring Opinion by
Spaeth, J.:
The difficulty with this case, as I see it, is not in the law but the facts. Judge Hoffman’s opinion states that “Seiler further warned the appellants that if consent were not given, the troopers would lock the vehicle and swear out a warrant before the district magistrate. Thereafter, the appellants signed a statement of consent prepared by Geary.” However, as Judge Cercone’S opinion notes, “Both troopers disagreed that they had so phrased their advice and explained why they did not —they were aware that representations of the availability of a search warrant could be construed to be coercive and thereby vitiate the consent. The question, therefore, was one of credibility properly left for resolution by the hearing court below.”
Plainly, the hearing judge might have found that appellants had not voluntarily consented to a warrantless search. Not only might the judge have believed that the troopers had threatened to lock the vehicle; he might also have placed some emphasis, as Judge Hoffman does, on the facts that when approaching the vehicle, the troopers were armed, and used their weapons to keep appellants covered.
*273Nevertheless, we cannot reverse a hearing judge’s findings except for abuse of discretion, Commonwealth v. Knowles, 440 Pa. 84, 269 A. 2d 739 (1970), and when the entire record is considered, I think it fair to say there was no such abuse. Accepting the troopers’ testimony, it appears that appellants were specifically told they did not have to consent. Further, the troopers took the unusual precaution of obtaining appellants’ written consent. And finally, the manner in which appellants conducted themselves manifests a hard-boiled bravado, which, on balance, persuades me that although most persons would have found the circumstances too threatening to permit of voluntary consent, appellants did not.