Court Opinion

ID: 9479911
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 07:32:39.843088+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:47:21.984474
License: Public Domain

MIKVA, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
Recently this court has been deluged with a spate of criminal appeals concerning whether police encounters constitute fourth amendment seizures. See, e.g., United States v. Tavolacci, 895 F.2d 1423 (D.C.Cir. January 9,1990); United States v. Winston, 892 F.2d 112 (D.C.Cir.1989); United States v. Savage, 889 F.2d 1113(D.C.Cir.1989); United States v. Baskin, 886 F.2d 383 (D.C.Cir.1989); United States v. Carrasquilla, 877 F.2d 73 (D.C.Cir.1989); United States v. Battista, 876 F.2d 201 (D.C.Cir.1989); United States v. Lloyd, 868 F.2d 447 (D.C.Cir.1989). These cases present varying permutations of the now familiar initial interview between the police detective, frequently a drug enforcement officer, and the potential suspect, often a traveller encountered in or near a transportation terminal. As these cases proliferate, it has become increasingly difficult for this court to apply the “reasonable person” standard articulated in United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 (1980), to evaluate whether there has been a show of authority sufficient to constitute a seizure. In Mendenhall, Justice Stewart stated that a person is seized within the meaning of the fourth amendment “only if, in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave.” Id. at 554, 100 S.Ct. at 1877; see also Michigan v. Chesternut, 486 U.S. 567, 108 S.Ct. 1975, 1979, 100 L.Ed.2d 565 (1988) (unanimously embracing the Mendenhall test). The increasingly unwieldy body of precedent on this matter tempts us to develop new legal rules with each novel factual circumstance to bring those factual circumstances within the established line of precedents sanctioning consensual police interviews. Alternatively, the precedents encourage us to attach talismanic legal significance to those factual details which have recurred in cases deemed non-coercive — for example, a conversational tone by the inquiring officer, the wearing of plainclothes, or the absence of exposed weapons. I think this approach to the objectives informing the Mendenhall test gets us into very troubled waters.
In Mendenhall, Justice Stewart made it clear that the question of whether a seizure has occurred was one to be evaluated “in view of all the circumstances surrounding the incident” in each individual case. 446 U.S. 544, 554, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 1877. While he proceeded to catalogue “[ejxamples of circumstances that might indicate a sei*421zure,” his analysis reflects the wholistic, fact-based nature of the inquiry:
On the facts of this case, no “seizure” of the respondent occurred. The events took place in a public concourse. The agents wore no uniforms and displayed no weapons. They did not summon the respondent to their presence, but instead approached her and identified themselves as federal agents. They requested but did not demand to see the respondent’s identification and ticket.... In short, nothing in the record suggests that the respondent had any objective reason to believe that she was not free to end the conversation in the concourse and proceed on her way.
Id. at 555, 100 S.Ct. at 1877 (emphasis added). The Supreme Court recently stressed that the Mendenhall test is meant to allow courts to evaluate the particularized context of each case. “The test is necessarily imprecise, because it is designed to assess the coercive effect of police conduct, taken as a whole, rather than to focus on particular details of that conduct in isolation. Moreover, what constitutes a restraint on liberty prompting a person to conclude that he is not free to ‘leave’ will vary, not only with the particular police conduct at issue, but also with the setting in which the conduct occurs.” Michigan v. Chesternut, 108 S.Ct. at 1979 (emphasis added).
Applying those teachings to this case, I cannot understand why we disregard the trial judge’s premier role in this difficult evaluation of the constitutional claims. There is no dispute that if the officers’ initial encounter with Maragh amounted to a seizure, it would not be supported by the reasonable suspicion necessary to justify a Terry stop. Notwithstanding the trial judge’s findings, the majority concludes that no seizure occurred.
After a suppression hearing at which the arresting officer and the defendant both testified, the trial judge concluded that the officer’s “questioning of [the] defendant turned into an investigative stop when [Detective Beard] identified himself as a member of the Narcotics Branch whose purpose it was to stop drugs from coming into Washington, stood obliquely in front of him, with Detective Hanson behind him and Detective Cassidy ‘downfield,’ and asked to search the defendant’s bag.” 695 F.Supp. 1223, 1225 (D.D.C.1988). In reversing the finding of the trial court, this court substitutes its judgment for that of the trial judge who was in the best position to assess witness credibility and to evaluate whether the totality of the circumstances indicated that the defendant had been seized. Because a determination of whether a seizure has occurred is essentially a fact-based endeavor, appellate courts should not reverse the trial court’s conclusion unless it is clearly erroneous. The record contains more than sufficient facts to support a finding that a seizure occurred in this case. I dissent from the majority’s reversal of this finding.
Several of our sister circuits have recognized explicitly that the question of whether the police “seized” a person is essentially factual. In this vein they have espoused the “clearly erroneous” standard of review, which attends all district court findings of historical fact, when reviewing fourth amendment seizure determinations. See United States v. Rose, 889 F.2d 1490 (6th Cir.1989); United States v. Gray, 883 F.2d 320, 322 (4th Cir.1989); United States v. Teslim, 869 F.2d 316, 321 (7th Cir.1989); United States v. Archer, 840 F.2d 567, 571 (8th Cir.1988), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 109 S.Ct. 364, 102 L.Ed.2d 354 (1988); United States v. Erwin, 803 F.2d 1505, 1508 (9th Cir.1982); United States v. Gooding, 695 F.2d 78, 82 (4th Cir.1982); United States v. Patino, 649 F.2d 724, 728 (9th Cir.1981). The factual question of whether a seizure has occurred should not be confused with the legal conclusion of whether the seizure was lawful. See, e.g., United States v. Mines, 883 F.2d 801, 803 (9th Cir.1989) (“findings of fact” reviewed under clearly erroneous standard, while “[t]he ultimate conclusion of the lawfulness of a seizure” reviewed “de novo”); United States v. Campbell, 843 F.2d 1089, 1092 (8th Cir.1988) (same).
Contrary to the suggestion of the majority, the Supreme Court has not explicitly *422identified the trial court’s determination of whether a fourth amendment seizure has occurred as a finding of fact, law, or a mixed determination of law and fact. As noted, in Mendenhall Justice Stewart acknowledged that the relevant findings are contextual, citing for example “the use of language or tone of voice indicating that compliance with the officer’s request might be compelled.” 446 U.S. 544, 554, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 1877. In this same plurality opinion, joined only by Justice Rehnquist, Justice Stewart also stated that “the correctness of the legal characterization of the facts appearing in the record is a matter for this Court to determine.” Id. at 553 n. 5, 100 S.Ct. at 1876 n. 5. Elsewhere, Justice Powell characterized the seizure analysis under Mendenhall as “a difficult characterization of fact and law.” I.N.S. v. Delgado, 466 U.S. 210, 221, 104 S.Ct. 1758, 1765, 80 L.Ed.2d 247 (1984) (Powell, J., concurring). In embracing Justice Stewart’s Menden-hall test, the Supreme Court has not made any attempt to state its collective position on this issue. Perhaps as a result of this ambiguity, this circuit has never expressly articulated its position on the standard of review applicable to a district court’s characterization of the facts under the Menden-hall test. Other circuits bound by the same Supreme Court precedents which bind this court have not felt restrained from characterizing the Mendenhall test as a factual inquiry.
Based on a review of the recent seizure decisions of this court, I believe that it would be appropriate to join those of our sister circuits that have adopted a clearly erroneous standard. A simple comparison of two recent decisions amply demonstrates the virtue of this course. In United States v. Battista, this court found that a seizure occurred where an initial interview took place in a train roomette and “the convergence of several subtle factors” suggested that a similarly situated reasonable person would not have felt free to leave. See Battista, 876 F.2d at 204-05 (officers knocked on door to awaken suspect at 6:30 a.m., questioned suspect while he was partially clothed, and retained his identification). In contrast, in United States v. Savage, 889 F.2d 1113, a police encounter in a train roomette initially did not constitute a seizure although it later was transformed into one by the police detective’s direct and forceful questioning. In reaching such a result, both courts necessarily relied on the demeanor interpretations of the trial judge. As to the first stage of the interview, the Savage court opined: “[Njothing in the record indicates that Savage was peculiarly vulnerable as would be a man awakened from bed in the early morning. [The detective] testified, and the district court credited, that his voice and demeanor while talking to Savage were ‘low key and informal.’ ” 889 F.2d at 1117. The trial court’s finding that the detective’s questioning later became “ ‘direct and probably forceful,’ ” however, led the Savage court to conclude that a seizure occurred at that point. Id. at 1115, 1117.
The demeanor findings which proved critical in Savage are the kinds of inferences which only a trial judge can draw. Similarly, in Battista it was the total effect of certain “subtle factors” that weighed in favor of finding a seizure. Such factual inferences typically are gleaned by the trial judge from the testimony of police detectives at the suppression hearing. See, e.g., United States v. Gray, 883 F.2d at 321 (“The evidence at the suppression hearing consisted almost entirely of the testimony of Special Agent Johnson.”); United States v. Erwin, 803 F.2d at 1508 (“Only troopers Bowman and McMillon testified at the hearing, and their testimony suggests that they requested Erwin's cooperation and that he freely complied.”).
More importantly, the suppression hearing is purely evidentiary in nature. In order to determine when and whether a seizure occurred, the trial judge must resolve conflicts in testimony, assess credibility, and draw conclusions as to what impact the total factual circumstances of the encounter would have on a similarly situated “reasonable” person. The Ninth Circuit stated the proposition as follows:
The determination of when [contact between the police and a member of the general public] constitutes a seizure *423within the meaning of the fourth amendment depends upon the facts and circumstances of each case. Proper deference must be given to the district judge who heard the testimony of the officer, his tone of voice and inflection, and who observed the officer’s conduct on the stand, his appearance and mannerisms.
United States v. Patino, 649 F.2d at 728. Similarly, the Seventh Circuit reasoned that the “highly factual” nature of the Menden-hall test “ ‘requires that particular deference be given to the trial judge who had the opportunity to observe the testimony and demeanor of [the witnesses].’ ” United States v. Teslim, 869 F.2d at 321 (citation omitted).
In adopting the clearly erroneous standard, the Fourth Circuit recognized that differing factual inferences might be drawn from the surrounding circumstances in assessing whether a citizen has been effectively “restrained” by a “show of authority.” United States v. Gooding, 695 F.2d at 82. The Seventh Circuit has also upheld a trial court’s finding of a seizure even where the appellate court “might have characterized the moment of seizure differently.” United States v. Teslim, 869 F.2d at 321. This seems an eminently sensible approach where subtle factors of demeanor have the potential to be critical to the outcome.
The majority suggests that by adopting a clearly erroneous standard, this court would be abdicating its responsibility independently to apply important fourth amendment standards. Yet, this court has applied the same kind of objective approach to determinations of abandonment of property for fourth amendment purposes:
To determine whether there is an abandonment in the fourth amendment sense, the district court must focus on the intent of the person who is alleged to have abandoned the place or object. The test is an objective one, and intent may be inferred from “words spoken, acts done, and other objective facts.” Because the ultimate determination hinges on the outcome of a factual inquiry into intent, a finding of abandonment is reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard.... see also United States v. Kendall, 655 F.2d 199, 203 (9th Cir.1981), cert. denied sub nom. Akers v. United States, 455 U.S. 941, 102 S.Ct. 1434, 71 L.Ed.2d 652 (1982) (“even where arguably mixed with questions of law, [the trial court’s finding of abandonment] is subject to attack only if clearly erroneous.”)
United States v. Thomas, 864 F.2d 843, 846 (D.C.Cir.1989) (emphasis added) (other citations omitted). The fact that the abandonment inquiry focuses on intent does not render such an approach any less appropriate to meet the standards of Mendenhall. The abandonment inquiry attempts to discern as an objective matter whether a person has forfeited his or her reasonable expectation of privacy in the object. The seizure inquiry attempts to discern as an objective matter whether a person has been restrained.
The majority also suggests that a de novo review standard would ensure consistent application of the Mendenhall test. Yet the Supreme Court’s own application of that test in two similar factual circumstances produced divergent results. Compare Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983) with Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 100 S.Ct. 1870. The only material difference in the factors considered by the Supreme Court in those two cases was the retention of Royer’s ticket in the former case. Royer, 460 U.S. at 503-04, 103 S.Ct. at 1327-28. If by “consistent application,” the majority means that the single factor of the retention of an individual’s ticket is to be converted into a rule of law that a seizure has occurred, that is certainly not what the Supreme Court intended in embracing a “totality of the circumstances” test. Yet that is what many lower courts have done. See Butterfoss, Bright Line Seizures: The Need for Clarity in Determining When Fourth Amendment Activity Begins, 79 J.Crim.L. & Criminology 437, 460 & n. 123 (1988).
In the case sub judice we are again faced with subtle questions. The trial judge’s conclusion that the “threatening environment” converted the conversation into a Terry stop was influenced by several *424factors, including Detective Beard’s “commanding presence,” the number and posture of the officers involved, and the manner of questioning (e.g. asking to search the defendant’s bag after he had denied possession of drugs). The trial judge concluded that the combination of these several factors would lead a reasonable person to feel as though he were not free to leave. In addition, the trial court heard the conflicting testimony of Officer Beard and appellant Maragh as to whether the officers touched Maragh before arresting him and as to the precise nature of the encounter. Clearly, if we had had the benefit of observing the interview firsthand, our perspectives would be dramatically enhanced. This situation demonstrates the critical role of the trier of fact in ascertaining whether, as an objective matter, the totality of factual circumstances amounts to a coercive show of authority. As the Fourth Circuit has observed, “[i]n reviewing fourth amendment seizure determinations, the appellate courts have recognized that the determination of precisely when an officer’s ‘polite request for an interview’ in fact becomes a fourth amendment seizure is ‘not always an easy one,’ may be ‘extremely close,’ and calls for a ‘refined judgment’ by the trial court.” United States v. Gray, 883 F.2d at 322 (citations omitted).
In light of the particularized nature of the Mendenhall inquiry, reference to the outcome of other cases with similar facts can and does lead the appellate court astray. In explaining the operation of another fourth amendment “totality of the circumstances” test, the Supreme Court warned against undue reliance on precedents addressing the question of consent in criminal cases. The body of over 30 different Supreme Court cases on consent “yield[s] no talismanic definition of ‘volun-tariness,’ mechanically applicable to the host of situations where the question has arisen.” Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 224, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2046, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1972). This body of Supreme Court precedent has produced a long list of factors which the Court has considered to assess whether, in the totality of all the surrounding circumstances, a particular defendant’s will was overborne. Id. at 226, 93 S.Ct. at 2047 (citing, inter alia, youth, lack of education, low intelligence, length of detention, and deprivation of food or sleep). Yet, “[t]he significant fact about all of these decisions is that none of them turned on the presence or absence of a single controlling criterion; each reflected a careful scrutiny of all of the surrounding circumstances.” Id.
Unfortunately, by failing to treat the Mendenhall test as a purely factual inquiry, the absence of certain factors in a suppression case has come dangerously close to being a talisman in this circuit for a finding that there was no seizure. In United States v. Brady, 842 F.2d 1313, 1314 (D.C.Cir.1988), we concluded that the defendant “faced none of the factors typically found to intimidate persons into thinking that compliance is obligatory: no visible weapons; no physical intimidation; no threats; no unusual setting or time.” These “Brady factors” have become a frequent mantra in our seizure jurisprudence. See, e.g., Tavolacci, — F.2d at-; Winston, 892 F.2d at 115; Savage, 889 F.2d at 1116; Baskin, 886 F.2d at 386-87; Carrasquilla, 877 F.2d at 76; Lloyd, 868 F.2d at 450. They illustrate why adopting a clearly erroneous standard would better accord with the spirit of the “totality of the circumstances” analysis required by Menden-hall. In Savage we stated that despite the “totality” approach, “[i]t is nevertheless instructive to note instances of particular police behavior that do not, by themselves constitute seizures.” At 1117 (emphasis in original). Yet, focus on singular aspects of police conduct is precisely the kind of analysis that the Mendenhall test is designed to avoid. Rather than relying on legal precedents to reach what should be a factual conclusion, appellate courts should rely on the factual inferences of the trial judge. Our decisions seem to reflect more willingness to support a trial judge’s findings against coercion than a judge’s findings in favor of the defendant’s claims. We ill-serve the standard of Mendenhall by applying a “sometimes” deferential standard of review.
*425In this case the trial court found that the circumstances surrounding the initial questioning of appellant Maragh constituted a seizure and that the search of his bag was non-consensual. Under the clearly erroneous standard, the district court’s decision must be affirmed unless upon considering the entire record we are left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S.Ct. 525, 541, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948). Because the trial court is best suited to assess the subtle factors at issue in this case, and because nothing in the record suggests that the trial court clearly erred in its conclusions, I would affirm its decision.