Summary
holding officer had probable cause to initiate a traffic stop for careless driving where the officer observed motorist "screeching his tires"
Summary of this case from State v. ClarkOpinion
No. 5-441 / 04-1193
Filed August 17, 2005
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Amanda Potterfield, Judge.
Bradley Szakacs appeals his conviction for operating while intoxicated, third offense. AFFIRMED.
Linda Del Gallo, State Appellate Defender, and Stephan Japuntich, Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Cristen Douglass, Assistant Attorney General, Harold Denton, County Attorney, and Russell Keast, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Miller and Hecht, JJ.
Bradley Joseph Szakacs appeals his conviction for operating while intoxicated (OWI), third offense. He claims the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence. We affirm.
I. BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS.
The record reveals the following facts. Officer Harvey Caldwell of the Cedar Rapids Police Department was on duty on May 30, 2003. He testified at the suppression hearing that at approximately 1:05 a.m. on that date he had the windows of his squad car down and heard tires screeching nearby. He drove one block from 18th Street to 19th Street and saw a car driving westbound that was "still in the process of screeching the tires and was also braking at the same time" and he noticed smoke coming from the tires. Caldwell testified that he directly observed the vehicle screeching its tires and it was the only vehicle in the area.
Officer Caldwell stopped the vehicle and asked the driver for his license. There were two people in the car. The defendant, Szakacs, was the driver and his passenger was his friend Darren Benesh. Caldwell testified he asked Szakacs why he was squealing his tires and Szakacs stated he was having some transmission problems. Caldwell also testified he could tell both individuals were intoxicated. Benesh was allowed to walk home and Szakacs was arrested for OWI. Officer Caldwell also gave Szakacs a citation for careless driving in violation of Iowa Code section 321.277A (2003).
Szakacs was charged by trial information with OWI, third offense, in violation of section 321J.2. He filed a motion to suppress, arguing that at the time of the stop Officer Caldwell did not have reasonable and articulable suspicion criminal activity was afoot and thus the stop was unconstitutional under both the federal and state constitutions. A hearing was held on Szakacs's motion to suppress. At the hearing Benesh testified that contrary to Caldwell's testimony he had not been drinking and that he heard no screeching of Szakacs's tires nor did he see any smoke coming from the tires. Also in contradiction to Caldwell's testimony Benesh stated that the car was already stopped in front of his house and he was starting to get out when Caldwell arrived.
Following the hearing the district court denied the motion in a written ruling. In overruling the motion the court found one screech of the tires is sufficient to justify an investigatory stop for careless driving under section 321.277A(1) and an auditory perception can give an officer reasonable suspicion. Considering the totality of the circumstances, the court concluded Officer Caldwell articulated a specific cause to reasonably believe the crime of careless driving had been committed and thus the stop was constitutional.
Szakacs filed a written waiver of jury trial and the case proceeded to a stipulated trial to the court on the minutes of evidence. The court found Szakacs guilty as charged and sentenced him to an indeterminate term of imprisonment not to exceed five years and a fine of $2,500. Szakacs appeals his conviction contending the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress because the stop of his vehicle was unconstitutional under both the federal and state constitutions. More specifically, he argues the stop of his vehicle was not justified because Officer Caldwell did not have a reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal activity because he did not see the commission of the act used to support the stop. II. SCOPE AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW.
Szakacs argues in the alternative that to the extent this issue was not preserved for appellate review his trial counsel was ineffective. However, because we conclude this issue was properly preserved for our review we need not address this alternative argument.
Because Szakacs's motion to suppress was based on alleged constitutional violations, our review of that ruling is de novo. State v. Carter, 696 N.W.2d 31, 36 (Iowa 2005); State v. McConnelee, 690 N.W.2d 27, 30 (Iowa 2004). We independently evaluate the totality of the circumstances found in the record. State v. Reinders, 690 N.W.2d 78, 82 (Iowa 2004). We give deference to the district court's fact findings because of that court's ability to assess the credibility of the witnesses, but we are not bound by those findings. State v. Crawford, 659 N.W.2d 537, 541 (Iowa 2003).
III. MERITS.
Szakacs contends here as he did in the district court that Caldwell did not have reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal activity and therefore the stop was in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the federal constitution and article 1, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution. Both provisions protect persons from unreasonable searches and seizures. Carter, 696 N.W.2d at 36; Reinders, 690 N.W.2d at 81. "Evidence obtained in violation of these provisions is inadmissible `no matter how relevant or probative the evidence may be.'" Reinders, 690 N.W.2d at 81 (citation omitted). The Fourteenth Amendment of the federal constitution makes the Fourth Amendment binding on the states. Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 655, 81 S. Ct. 1684, 1691, 6 L. Ed. 2d 1081, 1090 (1961).
"`Because the federal and state search-and-seizure clauses are nearly identical,' federal cases interpreting the federal provision are persuasive in our interpretation of the state provision." Carter, 696 N.W.2d at 37 (quoting Reinders, 690 N.W.2d at 81-82). However, such cases are not binding on this court regarding our interpretation of the state provision. Reinders, 690 N.W.2d at 82. Although Szakacs asserts that here we should interpret the Iowa Constitution to afford him more protection than is afforded under the federal constitution, that the stop "must undergo a more thorough scrutiny under the Iowa Constitution, than it would under the Fourth Amendment", he offers no argument as to why we should do so. We find no basis to distinguish the protection afforded by the Iowa Constitution from those afforded by the federal constitution under the facts of this case, and thus our analysis applies equally to both the state and federal grounds. See Carter, 696 N.W.2d at 37.
The Fourth Amendment requires a police officer must have reasonable suspicion that a criminal act occurred or is occurring to stop an individual for investigatory purposes. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 1880, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 906 (1968); State v. Kreps, 650 N.W.2d 636, 641 (Iowa 2002). An automobile stop is considered a "seizure" and is therefore subject to these Fourth Amendment protections and will be upheld only when it is reasonable. Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 810, 116 S. Ct. 1769, 1772, 135 L. Ed. 2d 89, 95 (1996).
When a person challenges a stop on the basis that reasonable suspicion did not exist, the State must show by a preponderance of the evidence that the stopping officer had specific and articulable facts, which taken together with rational inferences from those facts, to reasonably believe criminal activity may have occurred. Mere suspicion, curiosity, or hunch of criminal activity is not enough. Whether reasonable suspicion exists for an investigatory stop must be determined in light of the totality of the circumstances confronting the officer, including all information available to the officer at the time the officer makes the decision to stop the vehicle. The legality of the stop does not depend on the actual motivations of the officer involved in the stop.
State v. Tague, 676 N.W.2d 197, 204 (Iowa 2004) (internal citations omitted).
A traffic violation, however minor, gives an officer probable cause to stop a motorist. State v. Aderholdt, 545 N.W.2d 559, 563 (Iowa 1996). Iowa Code section 321.277A provides, in relevant part, that a person commits careless driving if the person "[c]reates or causes unnecessary tire squealing, skidding, or sliding upon acceleration or stopping." Iowa Code § 321.277A(1). Szakacs was issued a citation for careless driving in violation of this section. Despite Szakacs's argument that Caldwell did not do so, Officer Caldwell testified that he did in fact directly observe Szakacs in the process of screeching his tires, that he saw smoke coming off the tires, and that Szakacs's vehicle was the only one in the area. Caldwell's observation of Szakacs's violation of section 321.277A suffices as probable cause to justify the stop of Szakac's vehicle.
Further, however, Officer Caldwell did not have to directly observe Szakacs squealing his tires to have sufficient reasonable cause to believe that Szakacs was violating section 321.277A(1). Caldwell testified his windows were down and he heard the sound of screeching tires coming from a specific direction. He drove approximately one hundred yards in that direction and found Szakacs's vehicle the only one on the street at that time, observing his vehicle only seconds after he first heard the screeching. Accordingly we conclude Officer Caldwell's auditory perception, in light of the totality of the circumstances, gave him reasonable suspicion to believe Szakacs violated section 321.277A(1) and thus justify the stop, even if we were to assume he did not directly see Szakacs screeching his tires. See State v. Kinkead, 570 N.W.2d 97, 100-01 (Iowa 1997) (finding auditory perception can give an officer reasonable suspicion to justify an investigatory stop).
Requiring a more specific finding by law enforcement officials before a stop could be made would unduly hinder the enforcement of our laws. If officers were not allowed to rely on their sensory perception in performing their jobs, their positions as enforcers of our state's laws would be rendered futile.
Id. at 101.
IV. CONCLUSION.
Based on our de novo review, and for all of the reasons set forth above, we conclude that in light of the totality of the circumstances Officer Caldwell had specific and articulable facts to reasonably believe Szakacs violated section 321.277A. Thus, he had reasonable cause to stop Szakacs's vehicle. The stop did not violate Szakacs's rights under either the state or federal constitutions. The district court did not err in denying the motion to suppress.