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Vassar v. State10/29/2004
em clearly was capable of concealing the objects of the search.
The appellant also suggests that because he was hospitalized and his vehicle was damaged and allegedly immobile, the exigencies underlying the automobile exception did not exist in the instant case. This argument is not supported by citations to pertinent legal authority. We note that although the automobile exception is based in part on exigency, "the justification to conduct such a warrantless search does not vanish once the car has been immobilized; nor does it depend upon a reviewing court's assessment of the likelihood in each particular case that the car would have been driven away, or that its contents would have been tampered with, during the period required for the police to obtain a warrant."
United States v. Ludwig, 10 F.3d 1523, 1528 (10th Cir. 1993) ( quoting Michigan v. Thomas, 458 U.S. 259, 261, 102 S.Ct. 3079, 3081, 73 L.Ed.2d 750 (1982)). See also Sparks, 291 F.3d at 690; Vasquez-Castillo, 258 F.3d at 1212-13; Callaway v. State, 954 P.2d 1365, 1369 (Wyo. 1998); and 3 Wayne R. LaFave, supra, § 7.2(b) at 476 ("if it appears that the car has only recently and suddenly become disabled (perhaps as a result of an accident while pursued by police), then it seems likely that the Carney doctrine is applicable") (emphasis in original). In other words, if "police have probable cause to search a car, they need not get a search warrant first even if they have time and opportunity." Ludwig, 10 F.3d at 1528. See generally also State v. Williams, 2004 WY 53, 90 P.3d 85 (Wyo. 2004).
Finally, the appellant states that the search of his belongings at the hospital was improper because Trooper Guenther did not have probable cause to arrest the appellant for driving while under the influence of a controlled substance. This argument was not accompanied by citations to pertinent legal authority. We further note that Trooper Guenther testified at the suppression hearing that after he discovered the clandestine methamphetamine lab equipment, he proceeded to the hospital to arrest the appellant for "driving under the influence of a controlled substance and also... possession of clandestine lab material." On appeal, the appellant does not question Trooper Guenther's probable cause to arrest the appellant for the second offense. In addition, the appellant states in his appellate brief that the district court did not specifically rule on the seizure of items from the appellant's belongings and that "in light of the court's ruling on the Motion for Suppression the personal clothing search is not an issue on appeal."
Accordingly, we affirm the district court's denial of the appellant's motion to suppress.
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