State v. Prado ( 2022 )

43
Argued and submitted April 29, reversed and remanded June 2, petition for
review denied October 20, 2022 (370 Or 404)
STATE OF OREGON,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
IVAN AMISADAI REYES PRADO,
aka Ivan A. Reyes,
Defendant-Respondent.
Umatilla County Circuit Court
19CR82136; A174765
511 P3d 1137
The state appeals from a trial court order granting defendant’s motion to
suppress evidence discovered during a traffic stop. In granting the motion to
suppress, the trial court concluded that “probable cause is required for asking
a person to perform field sobriety tests.” Defendant cross-assigns error to the
trial court’s order concluding that the officer’s question to defendant about mari-
juana use did not unlawfully expand the scope of the traffic stop. Held: The Court
of Appeals concluded that the trial court erred in granting defendant’s motion
to suppress because an officer needs to have reasonable suspicion, not probable
cause, before asking a person to perform field sobriety tests. The court rejected
defendant’s cross-assignment of error.
Reversed and remanded.
Daniel J. Hill, Judge.
Joanna Hershey, Assistant Attorney General, argued the
cause for appellant. Also on the briefs were Ellen F. Rosenblum,
Attorney General, and Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General.
Peter G. Klym, Deputy Public Defender, argued the cause
for respondent. Also on the brief was Ernest G. Lannet,
Chief Defender, Criminal Appellate Section, Office of Public
Defense Services.
Before James, Presiding Judge, and Aoyagi, Judge, and
Joyce, Judge.
JOYCE, J.
Reversed and remanded.
44 State v. Prado
JOYCE, J.
The state appeals from a trial court order granting
defendant’s motion to suppress evidence discovered during a
traffic stop. In granting the motion to suppress, the trial court
concluded that “probable cause is required for asking a per-
son to perform field sobriety tests.” Defendant cross-assigns
error to the trial court’s order concluding that the officer’s
question to defendant about marijuana use did not unlaw-
fully expand the scope of the traffic stop. We reject defen-
dant’s cross-assignment without discussion. We reverse on
the state’s sole assignment of error because an officer needs
to have reasonable suspicion, not probable cause, before ask-
ing a person to perform field sobriety tests. The trial court
therefore erred in granting defendant’s motion to suppress.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
We begin by summarizing the testimony at the
hearing on defendant’s motion to suppress. Defendant was
arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicants
(marijuana) after Officer Marcum stopped him for speed-
ing and defendant failed field sobriety tests. Marcum was
the only witness for the state at the hearing. He testified
that he was on speed enforcement duties around 9:30 p.m.
when he encountered a car traveling 79 miles an hour,
which exceeded the posted speed limit of 55 mile per hour.
Marcum initiated a traffic stop. As he walked up to the car,
the driver’s side door opened and a man—defendant—leaned
out and told the officer that his window did not function.
Marcum could smell a strong odor of marijuana. Because
it was dark, Marcum had a flashlight. As he got closer to
the door, he could see a plastic bag on the floorboard on the
driver’s side that contained what appeared to be marijuana.
Defendant was calm, had bloodshot eyes, and was “slow
to talk to [Marcum] and everything as far as, you know,
when I asked him for his information.” Marcum described
that defendant had “kind of slowed—slow speech and reac-
tions to me.” Marcum testified that signs of marijuana
intoxication include slowed reactions and slowed bodily
movements.
Marcum asked defendant if he had smoked mari-
juana. Defendant stated that he had not smoked marijuana
Cite as 320 Or App 43 (2022) 45
for “a couple of days.” He told Marcum that he and his pas-
senger “usually hot box” in the car.1
Marcum returned to his patrol car, checked defen-
dant’s “driving status” and asked for a cover unit because he
suspected that defendant was driving while intoxicated.
Marcum then “ask[ed]” defendant if he would con-
sent to field sobriety tests. Defendant responded, “Yeah, I
haven’t smoked today.” Marcum “ask[ed]” defendant to get
out of his car. Defendant performed the field sobriety tests
and his performance led Marcum to believe that defendant
was under the influence of marijuana. Marcum arrested him
for driving under the influence, and he was later charged by
information.
Defendant filed a motion to suppress. Defendant
argued that even if the officer had reasonable suspicion to
believe that defendant was driving under the influence, that
“reasonable suspicion was dispelled before asking [defen-
dant] if he would submit to” field sobriety tests. Because the
reasonable suspicion had dispelled, defendant argued that
Marcum unreasonably extended the stop by asking defen-
dant if he would conduct field sobriety tests. Defendant addi-
tionally argued that any subjective suspicion Marcum may
have had was not objectively reasonable. Finally, defendant
argued that Marcum did not have probable cause to arrest
defendant.
At the close of testimony, the state framed the pri-
mary question for the court to decide: “We’re talking about
reasonable suspicion, specifically whether there’s enough for
Officer Marcum to reasonably suspect that the defendant
was under the influence of an intoxicating substance, and
ask him to step out of the vehicle for further investigation.”
The state argued that Marcum had reasonable suspicion to
ask defendant to perform field sobriety tests based on the
odor of marijuana, the presence of marijuana, defendant’s
slowed reaction in retrieving documents and responding to
the officer, and his bloodshot eyes. The state argued that
Marcum’s reasonable suspicion was objectively reasonable
1
Marcum testified that “hot boxing” refers to the process where individuals
fill a car with marijuana smoke and then inhale to get high from the marijuana.
46 State v. Prado
and that after defendant performed the field sobriety tests,
Marcum had probable cause to arrest defendant.
The trial court took the matter under advisement
and issued a letter opinion granting the motion to suppress.
It made a number of factual findings and legal conclusions
that are critical for the question on appeal, particularly with
respect to whether the officer “asked” or “ordered” defendant
to perform field sobriety tests. Those findings included:
• The car smelled of marijuana.
• The officer saw a bag of what appeared to be
marijuana.
• The officer testified that defendant had bloodshot
eyes and slowed reactions.
• Defendant stated that he had not used marijuana
for two days.
• Defendant admitted that he hot boxes in the car.
• The officer “did not identify anything additional
that was noteworthy of defendant prior to asking
him to get out of the car.”
• The officer “had the defendant get out to do field
sobriety tests.”
The court concluded that the questions that Marcum
asked about marijuana use were reasonable under the cir-
cumstances and did not unconstitutionally extend the stop.
The court then framed the next question: “[P]rior to order-
ing defendant out of his vehicle, did the officer subjectively
believe that it was more likely than not that defendant was
driving under the influence of intoxicants and [whether]
that belief was objectively reasonable[?]” (Emphasis added.)
Having framed the question that way, the trial
court concluded that Marcum did not have probable cause to
require a field sobriety tests: “[W]hile this is [a] closer ques-
tion than normal, the matters weighing for probable cause
are outweighed by those against.” The court thus concluded
that the officer did not have “probable cause to require the
field sobriety tests” prior to defendant “getting out of the
car.”
Cite as 320 Or App 43 (2022) 47
The state filed a motion for reconsideration. It
framed the issue for reconsideration as follows: “Whether
this court erred when it held that an officer must have ‘prob-
able cause’ to believe a driver is operating a vehicle while
under the influence of intoxicants before the officer can
ask the driver to consent to field sobriety test.” (Emphasis
added.) The state asserted that the correct legal standard
was whether the officer had reasonable suspicion to believe
that defendant was intoxicated. If he did, the officer could
ask defendant to perform field sobriety tests. The state thus
urged the trial court to apply that legal standard.
In summary fashion, the trial court denied the
motion to reconsider. The trial court concluded that the
“state is apparently confused with the language of the law
describing probable cause, as probable cause is required for
asking a person to perform field sobriety tests.” (Emphasis
added.) In reaching that conclusion, the trial court relied on
our opinion in State v. Miller, 265 Or App 442, 335 P3d 355
(2014). In that case, the officer stopped defendant twice, and
after the second stop, the officer “ordered [the] defendant
out of the vehicle to perform field sobriety tests.” Id. at 444(emphasis added). We held that the state was required to
prove that “prior to ordering [the] defendant out of his vehi-
cle,” the officer had probable cause to believe he was driving
under the influence of intoxicants. Id. at 445.
As noted, the state appeals from the trial court’s
order, arguing that the trial court applied a higher standard
than required to ask a person to perform field sobriety tests.
We agree and reverse.
ANALYSIS
The legal principles underlying this appeal are
undisputed. “[P]robable cause is not a necessary prerequi-
site to asking a defendant for consent to perform field sobri-
ety tests in the context of a DUII stop.” State v. Ramos, 149
Or App 269, 272, 942 P2d 841 (1997) (emphasis in original).
An officer can expand the scope of a lawful traffic stop—
including by asking for consent to search2 —if they develop
2
Field sobriety tests are searches under Article I, section 9, of the Oregon
Constitution. State v. Finney, 154 Or App 166, 171, 961 P2d 256 (1998).
48 State v. Prado
reasonable suspicion that a defendant has engaged in crim-
inal conduct. State v. Arreola-Botello, 365 Or 695, 714, 451
P3d 939 (2019). In contrast, if an officer compels a defendant
to participate in field sobriety tests, the officer must have
probable cause, in conjunction with a recognized exception to
the warrant requirement (generally exigent circumstances),
to do so. State v. Nagel, 320 Or 24, 880 P2d 451 (1994).
So framed, the question here reduces to whether
the officer asked defendant for his consent to perform field
sobriety tests—in which case the officer needed reasonable
suspicion—or compelled him to do so—in which case the
officer needed probable cause. In answering that question,
we defer to the trial court’s factual findings where evidence
in the record supports those findings, Ball v. Gladden, 250
Or 485, 487, 443 P2d 621 (1968), and review the trial court’s
legal conclusions for errors of law, State v. Koroteev, 222 Or
App 596, 600, 194 P3d 842 (2008).
Unfortunately, the trial court’s findings on that fac-
tual question are somewhat confusing. As set forth above,
in its factual findings, it framed the facts both as the officer
“asking [defendant] to get out of the car” and that the officer
“had the defendant get out to do field sobriety tests.” In its
legal conclusions, it concluded that the officer did not have
probable cause “to require the field sobriety test.” In denying
the state’s motion for reconsideration, the court concluded
that “probable cause is required for asking a person to per-
form field sobriety tests.”
Those findings are inconsistent, inasmuch as the
court seemed to conclude both that the officer asked for
consent and that the officer ordered defendant to perform
field sobriety tests. As discussed above, the distinction
makes all the difference in the level of suspicion required.
But even if we were to assume that the court found that
the officer ordered defendant to conduct field sobriety tests,
such a finding would not be supported by the evidence in
the record. The officer never testified that he did anything
other than ask or request that defendant perform the field
sobriety tests. To the extent that the trial court found that
the officer ordered defendant to do so, there is no factual
evidence in the record to support such a finding. Aquino v.
Cite as 320 Or App 43 (2022) 49
Baldwin, 163 Or App 452, 460, 991 P2d 41 (1999), adh’d to
as modified on recons, 169 Or App 464, 12 P3d 51 (2000) (We
are not bound by factual findings that are “entirely unsup-
ported by the trial court record”).3
In light of that conclusion, we must then decide
whether the officer’s request was supported by reasonable
suspicion. Based on the trial court’s findings, we easily con-
clude that it was. The officer smelled marijuana and observed
what he believed to be a bag of marijuana on defendant’s car
floor. Defendant had red, watery eyes and slowed reactions,
consistent with symptoms of intoxication from marijuana
use. That constellation of factors supports reasonable sus-
picion. See State v. Cottrell, 215 Or App 276, 280, 168 P3d
1200, rev den, 343 Or 554 (2007) (an officer’s observations
of the defendant’s bloodshot, watery eyes, odor of alcohol,
and “inattentive and messy eating” supported a finding of
reasonable suspicion); State v. Liebrecht, 120 Or App 617,
618, 853 P2d 1322, rev den, 317 Or 584 (1993) (odor of alco-
hol emanating from the car and the defendant’s admission
that he had been drinking created reasonable suspicion of
driving under the influence).
In urging us to affirm the trial court’s judgment,
defendant argues that the state did not establish that defen-
dant voluntarily consented to the field sobriety tests and the
trial court thus correctly granted the motion to suppress.
It is true that the state did not establish voluntary con-
sent. The difficulty with that argument is that the question
whether defendant involuntarily consented to perform field
sobriety tests was never before the court. The parties’ argu-
ments and the trial court’s ultimate ruling were framed by
defendant’s motion to suppress. That motion to suppress did
not challenge defendant’s consent. Instead, it focused exclu-
sively on whether the officer had objectively reasonable sus-
picion before the point in time when he asked for consent to
3
Indeed, that is what both defense counsel and the state understood as well.
In defendant’s motion to suppress, there are no fewer than a half dozen references
to what the officer said, all of which were framed in terms of the officer asking or
requesting consent for field sobriety tests. In fact, the first time any mention was
made of the officer compelling defendant to perform field sobriety tests was the
trial court’s opinion. Up to that point, no party had asserted—and no witness had
testified—that the officer ordered defendant out of the car.
50 State v. Prado
conduct field sobriety tests or whether that reasonable sus-
picion had dissipated. As we have repeatedly observed, “A
written motion to suppress ‘serves dual functions[:] It frames
the issues that the court will be required to decide, and it
notifies the state of the contentions that it must be prepared
to address at the hearing on the motion.’ ” State v. Parnell,
278 Or App 260, 265, 373 P3d 1252 (2016) (quoting State v.
Sweet, 122 Or App 525, 529, 858 P2d 477 (1993) (brackets in
Parnell)). Nothing in defendant’s written motion (or subse-
quent oral argument) apprised the state, or the trial court,
of his argument on appeal that the state had to prove that
defendant voluntarily consented to perform field sobriety
tests. Cf. State v. Hallam, 307 Or App 796, 802-03, 479 P3d
545 (2020) (discussing defendants’ obligations with respect
to motions to suppress evidence). We therefore decline to
hold that because the state did not prove that defendant’s
consent was voluntary, the trial court’s ruling was correct
(albeit for a different reason).
Reversed and remanded.