 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Gutierrez7/10/2002
, Cheek and his passengers were being subjected to an illegal detention at the time that Cheek gave his consent to a search of the automobile. A consent to search given during an illegal detention is tainted by the illegality and is therefore ineffective. Id. at 507-08; Zavala, 134 Idaho at 535-36, 5 P.2d at 996-97.
The State argues that the period of questioning involved here should be deemed a reasonable detention under the authority of State v. Reed, 129 Idaho 503, 927 P.2d 893 (Ct. App. 1996), pointing to our comment in that opinion that the Fourth Amendment does not necessarily require "that a traffic stop . . . be terminated at the instant the officer's suspicion of criminal activity is extinguished." Id. at 505, 927 P.2d at 895. The Reed decision, however, is inapposite. In that case, an officer stopped a vehicle because it had no license plates, but when the officer approached the vehicle on foot, he saw a temporary registration sticker in the back window. At that point, the officer no longer had reason to suspect any unlawful act, but he still requested that the driver produce his driver's license and proof of insurance. During the conversation with the driver, the officer noticed an odor of alcohol, and he ultimately arrested the driver for driving under the influence of alcohol. The driver sought suppression of the evidence of his intoxication on the basis that the justification for the stop, investigation of driving without license plates, ended when the officer noticed the temporary registration sticker. We held that the officer was not required to simply turn around and walk away upon his observation of the registration sticker, without giving the driver any explanation for the stop or ascertaining the identity of the driver. Following precedent established by State v. Godwin, 121 Idaho 491, 826 P.2d 452 (1992), we held that, after making any lawful stop, an officer is allowed to identify the person stopped in order to protect the officer and others from danger, to accurately prepare any required reports concerning the contact with the motorist, and to allow the officer to adequately respond to allegations of illegal conduct or improper behavior. Reed, 129 Idaho at 506, 927 P.2d at 896. Thus, in Reed, the routine request for identification and proof of insurance was held to be a legitimate part of the traffic stop itself and necessary to allow the officer to complete functions associated with that stop. In the present case, the detention to question Cheek about the contents of his car and to request consent to search was not part of the traffic stop and was entirely unrelated to its purpose. Our holding in Reed does nothing to legitimize such a detention.
III. CONCLUSION
Officer Bunderson's interrogation of Cheek after the reason for the traffic stop was fulfilled was not a consensual encounter nor a legitimate part of the traffic stop. The questioning unreasonably lengthened the detention after the purpose of the stop was accomplished. This prolongation of the detention violated the Fourth Amendment rights of Cheek's passengers, Angel and Anthony Gutierrez, with the result that Cheek's consent to search, given during the unlawful detention, was invalid. Because the consent to search was tainted by the illegality of the detention, evidence found in the search must be suppressed. Accordingly, the order of the district court denying the motion for suppression of evidence is reversed.
Chief Judge PERRY and Judge Pro Tem McKEE CONCUR.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Idaho DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|