Court Opinion

ID: 9747643
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 15:25:27.422279+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:25.199376
License: Public Domain

GAUT, J.
I respectfully dissent.
There is no dispute over the facts in this case. We therefore exercise our independent judgment to determine whether on the basis of those undisputed facts the detention and ultimate search of the Matelskis was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. (People v. Glaser (1995) 11 Cal.4th 354, 362 [45 Cal.Rptr.2d 425, 902 P.2d 729].)
It is undisputed that the Matelskis were exiting the home of Michael Mitchell as officers arrived for a parole search of Mitchell’s home. The officers did not have a search warrant, but needed none to search Mitchell’s home under the terms of his parole. The officers detained the Matelskis not because of any concern for officer safety, or because they feared the Matelskis would alert Mitchell to their presence, or because of concern about flight, or because they believed the house belonged to the Matelskis. (People v. Glaser, supra, 11 Cal.4th at p. 365.) The officers articulated no “. . . facts causing [them] to suspect that (1) some activity relating to crime has taken place or is occurring or about to occur, and (2) the [Matelskis were] . . . involved in that activity.” (People v. Leyba (1981) 29 Cal.3d 591, 597 [174 Cal.Rptr. 867, 629 P.2d 961].)
*854The officers testified they detained the Matelskis solely because they wanted to know whether the Matelskis were convicted felons, which would have violated a condition of Mitchell’s parole prohibiting association with convicted felons. But there was no such restraint on the Matelskis. They were free to visit Mitchell. The officers therefore had no reasonable suspicion that a crime had occurred or was about to occur and that the Matelskis were involved in that crime.
In the Leyba case the Supreme Court indicated that not only must the officers entertain a suspicion that a crime has occurred or is occurring and that the party detained is involved in that activity, that subjective suspicion must be objectively reasonable. (People v. Leyba, supra, 29 Cal.3d at p. 597.)
The majority argues that the intrusion upon the Matelskis was minor when balanced against the governmental interests justifying the detention. I disagree. In the Glaser case, the police had a search warrant for a private residence where illegal drugs or related items were allegedly located. The Supreme Court noted that if in the process of serving the warrant “police officers encounter on the premises a person whose identity and connection to the premises are unknown and cannot immediately be determined without detaining the person, the officers may constitutionally detain him or her for the period of time required and in the manner necessary to make those determinations and to protect the safety of all present during the detention. If the person is determined to be an occupant of the home to be searched, he or she may be detained ... for the duration of the search. [Citation.] If the person is determined not to be an occupant, further detention is proper only if justified by other specific, articulable facts connecting him or her to the criminal activity suspected to be occurring on the premises or establishing a danger to the officers if the person is released.” (People v. Glaser, supra, 11 Cal.4th at p. 374.)
None of the Glaser facts were present here. There was no search warrant. There was no evidence of illegal activity on the premises. The officers could have determined in seconds that the Matelskis were not residents of the home. The detention of the Matelskis was admittedly not for the purpose of officer safety. The situation was not unstable. There was no “ ‘specific and articulable facts’ that reasonably warranted] the intrusion on personal liberty and privacy.” (People v. Glaser, supra, 11 Cal.4th at p. 374.) Those facts support the trial court’s legal conclusion which resulted in the suppression of the evidence found as a result of the search of the Matelskis. (See People v. Loudermilk (1987) 195 Cal.App.3d 996, 1001 [241 Cal.Rptr. 208].)
*855I would affirm the decision of the magistrate and the trial court to suppress the drugs discovered as a result of the detention.
A petition for a rehearing was denied August 24, 2000, and respondents’ petitions for review by the Supreme Court were denied November 15, 2000. Kennard, J., was of the opinion that the petitions should be granted.