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State v. Wanzek8/25/1999
Appeal from the District Court of Stutsman County, Southeast Judicial District, the Honorable Mikal Simonson, Judge.
AFFIRMED.
Opinion of the Court by VandeWalle, Chief Justice.
State v. Wanzek No. 990053
[ ] Kimberly K. Wanzek appealed from a district court judgment of conviction of possession of a controlled substance. Wanzek argues the trial court erred when it denied her motion to suppress evidence obtained during a search of her vehicle following her arrest. We affirm the conviction.
I.
[ ] Just after midnight on April 20, 1998, Officer Thomas Nagel of the Jamestown Police Department issued a parking ticket to a vehicle located in an alley. A license check revealed the owner of the vehicle, Wanzek, did not have a valid operator's license. As Officer Nagel was issuing a ticket, Wanzek approached. She appeared to have been drinking.
[ ] About an hour later, Officers Nagel and Deitz were driving northbound and observed Wanzek's vehicle driving in front of their patrol car. The vehicle pulled off the roadway to park in front of an apartment building. The patrol car pulled alongside Wanzek's vehicle. Officer Nagel recognized the driver as Wanzek. Officer Nagel testified at the suppression hearing, " he (Wanzek) looked over at me, looked straight ahead, backed the vehicle up, and exited the vehicle." Officer Nagel then exited the patrol car and made contact with Wanzek at the rear door of her vehicle, on the driver's side. Wanzek was placed under arrest for driving under suspension and driving under the influence of alcohol and placed in the patrol car. At this point, Officer Nagel searched the passenger compartment of the car. He discovered a bag of marijuana in the glove compartment box.
[ ] Wanzek was charged with possession of a controlled substance in violation of N.D.C.C. §§ 19-03.1-23(6) and 19-03.1-05(5)(t), a class A misdemeanor. Wanzek brought a motion to suppress the evidence found in the glove compartment, contending the search violated her Fourth Amendment rights and rights under Article I, Section 8 of the North Dakota Constitution. Following a hearing, the district court denied Wanzek's motion to suppress. After a trial, the jury found Wanzek guilty of possessing a controlled substance.
[ ] Our standard of review of a trial court's denial of a suppression motion is well-established:
"We will defer to a trial court's findings of fact in the Disposition of a motion to suppress. Conflicts in testimony will be resolved in favor of affirmance, as we recognize the trial court is in a superior position to assess credibility of witnesses and weigh the evidence. Generally, a trial court's decision to deny a motion to suppress will not be reversed if there is sufficient competent evidence capable of supporting the trial court's findings, and if its decision is not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence." State v. Overby, 1999 ND 47, 5, 590 N.W.2d 703 (quoting State v. Kitchen, 1997 ND 241, 11, 572 N.W.2d 106). "While we defer to the trial court's findings of fact, questions of law are fully reviewable." Id.
[ ] No challenge has been made to the validity of Wanzek's arrest. The only issue before us is the validity of a warrantless search of the passenger compartment of a vehicle driven by an arrestee who has voluntarily exited the vehicle prior to her arrest. This precise issue appears to be one of first impression in the state of North Dakota.
II.
[ ] The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article I, Section 8 of the North Dakota Constituti
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