United States v. Clarence Leonard Chatman , 342 F. App'x 555 ( 2009 )


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  •                                                            [DO NOT PUBLISH]
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    ________________________                  FILED
    U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    No. 09-10825                ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    AUGUST 20, 2009
    Non-Argument Calendar
    THOMAS K. KAHN
    ________________________
    CLERK
    D. C. Docket No. 08-00265-CR-2-KOB-PWG
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    versus
    CLARENCE LEONARD CHATMAN,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    ________________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Northern District of Alabama
    _________________________
    (August 20, 2009)
    Before BLACK, BARKETT and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:
    Clarence Leonard Chatman appeals his conviction for being a felon in
    possession of a firearm, in violation of 
    18 U.S.C. § 922
    (g)(1), arguing that the
    district court erred by denying his motion to suppress a firearm found during a
    traffic stop. After a thorough review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we
    affirm.
    On January 28, 2008, Birmingham Police Officers Phillip Harris and Steven
    Beshears were riding in their marked patrol car when they saw Chatman driving
    his automobile without a seatbelt on. Officer Harris turned on his lights and sirens
    and conducted a traffic stop solely because Chatman was not wearing a seatbelt.
    Officer Harris approached the vehicle and asked Chatman for his license and proof
    of insurance. As Chatman was complying with this request, Officer Harris asked,
    “Is there anything illegal or anything I should know about this vehicle?” Chatman
    answered that there was a gun in the glove box. When asked if he had a permit for
    the gun, Chatman responded, “No, sir.” At this point, Officer Harris asked
    Chatman to step out of the car. He walked Chatman to the patrol car and placed
    him in the back seat. Officer Beshears retrieved the gun from the glove box and
    then contacted a dispatcher to determine if Chatman’s license was valid and
    whether Chatman had any outstanding warrants. Approximately three to five
    minutes later, the officers received information that Chatman had an outstanding
    warrant with the City of Birmingham. The officers then arrested Chatman on the
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    outstanding warrant and for his possession of a firearm without a permit. The
    entire incident – from the time the officers stopped Chatman to the time they left
    the scene with him – lasted between ten and fifteen minutes.
    In June of 2008, a single-count indictment was entered in the Northern
    District of Alabama, charging Chatman with being a felon in possession of a
    firearm. Chatman filed a motion to suppress the evidence of the gun discovered on
    January 28, 2008, arguing that the officer’s asking him “is there anything illegal”
    violated Alabama Code Section 32-5B-8(c), which provides that a “law
    enforcement officer may not search or inspect a motor vehicle, its contents, the
    driver, or a passenger solely because of a violation” of the Alabama Safety Belt
    Act. (Emphasis added). Chatman also argued that the traffic stop and subsequent
    search of the glove box were unconstitutional. Following a hearing on the motion,
    a magistrate judge issued findings and a recommendation that the motion to
    suppress be denied. Over Chatman’s objections, the district court adopted the
    magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and denied the motion to suppress.
    Chatman then pleaded guilty, reserving the right to appeal the adverse ruling on his
    motion to suppress. The district court sentenced Chatman to ten months of
    imprisonment.
    Chatman now appeals the denial of his motion to suppress, asserting that the
    3
    gun evidence was unconstitutionally obtained because the traffic stop was not
    supported by probable cause and because the officers exceeded the scope and
    duration of a permissible traffic stop by asking Chatman questions unrelated to the
    seatbelt violation.
    “We review de novo the district court’s denial of a motion to suppress. We
    view all evidence in the light most favorable to the party that prevailed in the
    district court.” United States v. Carter, 
    566 F.3d 970
    , 973 (11th Cir. 2009)
    (quotation and citation omitted).
    The Fourth Amendment provides that “[t]he right of the people to be secure
    in their persons . . . against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
    violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.” U.S. Const.
    amend. IV. A traffic stop is considered “only a limited form of seizure”1 which is
    permissible without a warrant where a police officer has “probable cause to believe
    that a driver have violated any one of a multitude of applicable traffic and
    equipment regulations relating to the operation of motor vehicles.” United States
    v. Strickland, 
    902 F.2d 937
    , 940 (11th Cir. 1990) (citations omitted). Also,
    although warrantless searches are generally per se unreasonable under the Fourth
    Amendment, the Supreme Court has recognized an the automobile exception
    1
    United States v. Purcell, 
    236 F.3d 1274
    , 1277 (11th Cir. 2001).
    4
    which “permits warrantless vehicle searches if the vehicle is operational and agents
    have probable cause to believe the vehicle contains evidence of a crime.” United
    States v. Tamari, 
    454 F.3d 1259
    , 1264 (11th Cir. 2006).
    As an initial matter, we conclude that Chatman’s argument challenging the
    validity of the initial stop is without merit because the officers had probable cause
    to believe that he was violating Alabama Code § 32-5B-4 by not wearing a seat
    belt.2 Whren v. United States, 
    517 U.S. 806
    , 819 (1996). Although Officer Harris
    testified at the hearing that he was unfamiliar with the requirements of the Federal
    Motor Vehicle Safety Act and could not name the section of the Birmingham
    Municipal Code which required seatbelt use, Chatman has not shown that the
    officers did not act in accordance with the governing law or that the traffic stop
    was premised upon a mistake of law. See United States v. Chanthasouxat, 
    342 F.3d 1271
    , 1276 (11th Cir. 2003) (holding that traffic stop for improper equipment
    was unsupported by probable cause where officer incorrectly believed that state
    law required an inside-rear view mirror). Accordingly, because the officers saw
    that Chatman’s seatbelt was unfastened and correctly identified that this conduct
    violated a traffic regulation, the initial traffic stop did not violate the Fourth
    2
    Because we conclude that the stop was supported by probable cause, we decline to
    address Chatman’s argument, raised for the first time on appeal, that the stop was invalid under
    the “special needs” doctrine.
    5
    Amendment.
    We also conclude that the warrantless search of the glove compartment in
    this case was justified under the automobile exception because Chatman informed
    the officers that there was a firearm located there and that he lacked the required
    permit. We reject Chatman’s contention that the officers exceeded the scope of the
    traffic stop by asking him questions unrelated to the seat-belt violation, as these
    questions did not unreasonably prolong the duration of the stop. See United States
    v. Hernandez, 
    418 F.3d 1206
    , 1209 n.3 (11th Cir. 2005) (explaining that “[w]hen
    an officer is, for instance, looking at a driver’s license . . . , he can lawfully at about
    the same time also ask questions – even questions not strictly related to the traffic
    stop” as long as such questioning does not unreasonably extend the duration of the
    stop); Purcell, 
    236 F.3d at 1279
     (“Fourteen minutes is not an unreasonable amount
    of time for a traffic stop. We have approved traffic stops of much longer
    duration.”). We also reject the argument that these questions constitute an
    impermissible “inspection,” in violation of 
    Ala. Code § 32
    -5B-8(c). Accordingly,
    we affirm the district court’s denial of the motion to suppress the gun evidence.
    AFFIRMED.
    6