State v. Ismael Serda ( 2015 )


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  •                                                                                      ACCEPTED
    13-15-00178-CR
    THIRTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS
    CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
    6/11/2015 9:03:55 AM
    CECILE FOY GSANGER
    CLERK
    #13-15-00178-CR
    FILED IN
    13th COURT OF APPEALS
    CORPUS CHRISTI/EDINBURG, TEXAS
    Thirteenth Court of Appeals, Corpus        6/11/2015
    Christi        9:03:55 AM
    & Edinburg
    CECILE FOY GSANGER
    Clerk
    THE STATE OF TEXAS,
    Appellant
    v.
    ISMAEL SERDA,
    Appellee
    ON STATE’S APPEAL FROM THE 28TH DISTRICT COURT
    OF NUECES COUNTY, CAUSE #13-CR-1027-A
    STATE’S BRIEF
    A. Cliff Gordon
    Tex. Bar #00793838
    Asst. Dist. Atty., 105th Dist.
    Nueces County Courthouse
    901 Leopard St., Rm. 206
    Corpus Christi, TX 78401
    361.888.0410 phone
    361.888.0399 fax
    cliff.gordon@nuecesco.com
    ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED
    IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL
    Appellant:   The State of Texas, District Attorney for the 105th Judicial
    District, represented by
    Appellate counsel:
    A. Cliff Gordon, Asst. Dist. Atty.
    Nueces County Courthouse
    901 Leopard St., Rm. 206
    Corpus Christi, TX 78401
    Trial and appellate counsel:
    Mark Skurka, District Attorney
    Chris Morrell, Asst. Dist. Atty.
    Nueces County Courthouse
    901 Leopard St., Rm. 206
    Corpus Christi, TX 78401
    Appellee:    Ismael Serda, represented by
    Appellate Counsel:
    Travis W. Berry
    P.O. Box 6333
    Corpus Christi, TX 78401
    Trial Counsel:
    Kenneth G. Botary
    615 Leopard St. Ste. 836
    Corpus Christi, TX 78401
    ii
    TABLE OF CONTENTS
    IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL ........................................................ ii
    INDEX OF AUTHORITIES ................................................................................... v
    STATEMENT OF THE CASE ............................................................................. vii
    ISSUE PRESENTED ............................................................................................ viii
    Whether the trial court erred by granting Serda’s motion to
    suppress evidence ................................................................................... viii
    A. Did the trial court properly conclude that reasonable
    suspicion was lacking in the face of the unanimous,
    uncontroverted evidence that Serda was speeding while
    being followed by Texas DPS Agent Eric Walters ...................... viii
    B. Did Serda’s explanation for his admitted speeding negate
    reasonable suspicion? ...................................................................... viii
    C. Was reasonable suspicion even necessary in light of the
    trial court’s finding that Serda did not realize he was being
    pursued by law enforcement when he brought his vehicle
    to a stop? ............................................................................................ viii
    STATEMENT OF FACTS .......................................................................................1
    The traffic encounter and felony DWI charge ..............................................1
    Serda admitted in his motion to suppress that he was speeding ..............1
    Serda testified that he was speeding while being followed by
    Texas DPS Agent Walters, and Serda’s trial counsel argued
    Serda was speeding ....................................................................................1
    The trial court found no reasonable suspicion to stop Serda,
    granted his motion to suppress, and refused to make any
    findings on his admitted speeding ..........................................................2
    SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT ......................................................................3
    ARGUMENT ............................................................................................................5
    iii
    The trial court erred by granting Defendant Serda’s motion to
    suppress........................................................................................................5
    1. The trial court found no reasonable suspicion by
    disregarding the collective knowledge of the cooperating
    officers ....................................................................................................5
    1.a General Legal Standards ...............................................................5
    1.b The legal standards applicable to reasonable suspicion
    should have required the trial court to consider the
    collective knowledge of the cooperating officers ......................8
    1.b The undisputed evidence showed that the cooperating
    officers had reason to suspect that Serda was speeding ..........8
    2. The trial court wrongly found no reasonable suspicion by
    weighing the relative innocence or guilt of Serda’s conduct .......10
    2.a The legal standards should have required the trial court
    to examine only the relative degree of suspicion arising
    from Serda’s conduct through the prism of the
    reasonable officer..........................................................................11
    2.b The trial court, in effect, found a "paranoid speeding
    drunk" defense to reasonable suspicion ...................................12
    3. The trial court’s findings show that the traffic stop was a
    consensual encounter requiring no reasonable suspicion ...........13
    3.a The legal standards recognize that some police-citizen
    encounters need not be supported by reasonable
    suspicion or probable cause ........................................................13
    3.b No detention occurs when a person pulls over without
    believing he is yielding to a law enforcement officer .............15
    PRAYER ..................................................................................................................15
    CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE ....................................................................16
    CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ...............................................................................16
    iv
    INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
    Cases
    Allen v. State, 13-13-00188-CR, 
    2014 WL 4402135
     (Tex. App.—Corpus
    Christi Sept. 4, 2014, no pet.) .....................................................................14
    Berkemer v. McCarty, 
    468 U.S. 420
     (1984) ...........................................................6
    Bland v. Texas Dep’t of Pub. Safety, No. 14-12-01057-CV, 
    2013 WL 3868447
    , (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] July 23, 2013, pet
    denied) ..........................................................................................................12
    Derichsweiler v. State, 
    348 S.W.3d 906
     (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) ...... 6, 9, 11, 12
    Drago v. State, 
    553 S.W.2d 375
     (Tex. Crim. App. 1977) .....................................7
    Fonseca v. State, 
    881 S.W.2d 144
     (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1994, no
    pet.) .................................................................................................................8
    Granados v. State, 
    85 S.W.3d 217
     (Tex. Crim. App. 2002) ................................7
    Hoag v. State, 
    728 S.W.2d 375
     (Tex. Crim. App. 1987) ..................................8, 9
    In re J.M., 
    995 S.W.2d 838
     (Tex. App.—Austin 1999, no pet.) ........................11
    Martinez v. State, 
    348 S.W.3d 919
     (Tex. Crim. App. 2011)................................8
    McVickers v. State, 
    874 S.W.2d 682
     (Tex. Crim. App. 1993) .........................7, 9
    Power v. State, No. 13-05-693-CR, 
    2006 WL 2516525
     (Tex. App.—
    Corpus Christi July 27, 2006, no pet.) ........................................................7
    Praska v. State, 
    557 S.W.2d 83
     (Tex. Crim. App. 1977) ............................. 11, 12
    Scardino v. State, 
    294 S.W.3d 401
     (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2009, no
    pet.) .................................................................................................................6
    State v. Kelly, 
    204 S.W.3d 808
     (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) ......................................6
    State v. Kerwick, 
    393 S.W.3d 270
     (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) .................................6
    Texas Dep’t of Pub. Safety v. Celedon, No. 13-01-557-CV, 
    2002 WL 34230967
     (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi Aug. 29, 2002, no pet.) ...............8
    v
    United States v. Mendenhall, 
    446 U.S. 544
     (1980) ............................................14
    Valencia v. State, 
    820 S.W.2d 397
     (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.]
    1991, pet. ref’d) ..............................................................................................7
    Wade v. State, 
    422 S.W.3d 661
     (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) ............................ 14, 15
    Woods v. State, 
    956 S.W.2d 33
     (Tex. Crim. App. 1997) ...................................11
    vi
    STATEMENT OF THE CASE
    Nature of the Case         A grand jury indicted Defendant Ismael Serda
    for felony Driving While Intoxicated. CR 5.
    Course of Proceedings      On February 25, 2015, Serda filed his Motion to
    Suppress Evidence. CR 30-32. On March 4, the
    trial court heard Serda’s motion to suppress.
    RR 2:1.
    Trial Court’s Disposition On March 5, 2015, the trial court granted Serda’s
    motion to suppress. CR 34.
    vii
    ISSUE PRESENTED
    Whether the trial court erred by granting Serda’s motion to suppress
    evidence.
    A.   Did the trial court properly conclude that reasonable suspicion was
    lacking in the face of the unanimous, uncontroverted evidence that
    Serda was speeding while being followed by Texas DPS Agent Eric
    Walters?
    B.   Did Serda’s explanation for his admitted speeding negate reasonable
    suspicion?
    C.   Was reasonable suspicion even necessary in light of the trial court’s
    finding that Serda did not realize he was being pursued by law
    enforcement when he brought his vehicle to a stop?
    viii
    STATEMENT OF FACTS
    The traffic encounter and felony DWI charge.
    Corpus Christi Police Department Officer Alexandria Castro was on
    patrol when she received a dispatch to assist DPS Narcotics Agent Eric
    Walters, who was in an unmarked pickup truck following Defendant
    Serda. Supp. CR 17 (Findings ##1, 2). The ensuing traffic encounter led to
    Serda’s arrest and grand jury indictment for felony Driving While
    Intoxicated. CR 5.
    Serda admitted in his motion to suppress that he was speeding.
    On February 25, 2015, Serda filed his Motion to Suppress Evidence.
    CR 30-32. The motion, while admitting Serda reached speeds of “80-100
    miles per hour,” claimed that he thought he needed to evade another
    driver who appeared to be “in a state of road rage.” CR 30.
    Serda testified that he was speeding while being followed by Texas
    DPS Agent Walters, and Serda’s trial counsel argued Serda was
    speeding.
    On March 4, 2015, the trial court heard Serda’s motion to suppress.
    RR 2:1. At the suppression hearing, Serda limited his challenge to the
    existence of reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop that led to his DWI
    1
    arrest. RR 2:52. Serda testified that he was speeding while DPS Agent
    Walters pursued him—
    [Prosecutor] . . . Is it a fair statement to say that you were
    speeding to try to get away from the vehicle that way
    following you?
    [Serda]:    Entirely.
    Q:          Okay. So you are speeding?
    A:          To try to get away from the vehicle that was chasing me.
    RR 2:45-46. Serda’s trial counsel agreed that “[Serda] was speeding to try
    to avoid contact with whoever was chasing him because he was afraid.”
    RR 2:49.
    Also at the hearing, Officer Castro testified that she was dispatched
    to try intercept Walters and Serda’s vehicles because Serda was suspected
    of speeding, being intoxicated, and driving recklessly. RR 2:6, 12, 35-36.
    The trial court found no reasonable suspicion to stop Serda,
    granted his motion to suppress, and refused to make any findings
    on his admitted speeding.
    On March 5, 2015, the trial court granted Serda’s motion to suppress.
    CR 34. Upon the State’s timely request (CR 30), the trial judge entered
    findings of fact and conclusions of law (Supp. CR 17). The trial court based
    its conclusion of no reasonable suspicion on its finding that Officer Castro
    2
    never witnessed Serda commit any traffic violations.       Supp. CR 17-18
    (Findings ##8, 9; Conclusion #2).
    Officer Castro could not observe Serda’s driving before he pulled
    over because Serda did so before Officer Castro could catch up to and get
    behind his vehicle. Supp. CR 17 (Finding #7). Because Officer Castro had
    not yet caught up to Serda, he did not realize that he was being followed
    by any law enforcement authorities when he stopped his vehicle. Supp. CR
    17 (Finding #3).
    The State requested additional findings concerning Serda’s testimony
    that he was speeding and what Officer Castro heard from dispatch. Supp.
    CR 19. The trial court refused on the basis that DPS Agent Walters did not
    testify at the hearing. Supp. CR 25. This Court denied the State’s motion to
    abate and remand for additional findings.
    SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT
    Reasonable suspicion depends on the knowledge of the cooperating
    officers—here—DPS Agent Walters, Officer Castro, and the police
    dispatcher. It is undisputed that Serda was speeding while being followed
    3
    by DPS Agent Walters in an unmarked vehicle and that CCPD Officer
    Castro was dispatched to help him stop Serda.             This evidence is
    undisputed because Serda admitted it in his motion to suppress and on the
    stand during the suppression hearing, and Officer Castro testified that she
    was dispatched to assist DPS Agent Walters due to, among other reasons,
    speeding by Serda.     The trial court’s legal conclusion that reasonable
    suspicion was lacking because Officer Castro did not witness Serda’s
    speeding is wrong and should be reversed by this Court.
    Furthermore, Serda’s motion to suppress admitted that he was
    speeding yet sought suppression because he mistakenly thought he was
    being chased by an unknown driver instead of DPS Agent Walters.
    However, Serda’s subjective thoughts are not part of the reasonable
    suspicion analysis. That is because reasonable suspicion depends on the
    degree of suspicion that attaches to the circumstances facing the officers—
    not the relative guilt or innocence of those circumstances. Thus, regardless
    why he was speeding, Serda’s admitted speeding over several miles while
    4
    being followed by DPS Agent Walters provided reasonable suspicion to
    stop him.
    Finally, the trial court made no findings concerning which law
    enforcement officer supposedly stopped Serda. It could not because the
    trial judge found that Serda brought his vehicle to a stop before he knew
    that law enforcement was pursuing him. Thus, Serda did not stop due to
    any show of authority. As a result, his initial encounter with police was
    consensual and need not have been supported by reasonable suspicion.
    Thus, had reasonable suspicion been lacking, the trial court’s granting of
    Serda’s motion to suppress would still be wrong and deserving of reversal.
    ARGUMENT
    The trial court erred by granting Defendant Serda’s motion to suppress.
    1.   The trial court found no reasonable suspicion by disregarding the
    collective knowledge of the cooperating officers.
    1.a    General Legal Standards
    In reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress, appellate
    courts employ a bifurcated standard, giving almost total deference to a trial
    court’s determination of historic facts and mixed questions of law and fact
    5
    that rely upon the credibility of a witness, but applying a de novo standard
    of review to pure questions of law and mixed questions that do not depend
    on credibility determinations. E.g., State v. Kerwick, 
    393 S.W.3d 270
    , 273
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2013). When a trial court makes explicit fact findings, the
    appellate court determines whether the evidence (viewed in the light most
    favorable to the trial court’s ruling) supports these fact findings. State v.
    Kelly, 
    204 S.W.3d 808
    , 818 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006). “Whether the facts
    known to the officer at the time of the detention amount to reasonable
    suspicion is a mixed question of law that is reviewed de novo on appeal.”
    Kerwick, 393 S.W.3d at 273.
    “A warrantless automobile stop is a Fourth Amendment seizure
    analogous to a temporary detention, and it must be justified by reasonable
    suspicion.”   Scardino v. State, 
    294 S.W.3d 401
    , 405 (Tex. App.—Corpus
    Christi 2009, no pet.) (citing Berkemer v. McCarty, 
    468 U.S. 420
    , 439 (1984)).
    A police officer has reasonable suspicion for a detention if he has specific,
    articulable facts that, when combined with rational inferences from those
    facts, would lead the officer to reasonably conclude that the person
    6
    detained is, has been, or soon will be engaged in criminal activity.
    Derichsweiler v. State, 
    348 S.W.3d 906
    , 914 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011). This
    standard is an objective one that disregards the subjective intent of the
    arresting officer and looks, instead, to whether there was an objectively
    justifiable basis for the detention. Ibid.
    It is generally accepted that law enforcement officers may lawfully
    stop a motorist who commits a traffic violation. McVickers v. State, 
    874 S.W.2d 682
    , 664 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993), superseded by statute on other
    grounds as stated in Granados v. State, 
    85 S.W.3d 217
    , 227-30 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2002); see also Power v. State, No. 13-05-693-CR, 
    2006 WL 2516525
    , at *2 (Tex.
    App.—Corpus Christi July 27, 2006, no pet.) (citing McVickers; not
    designated for publication).       In stopping vehicles for an investigative
    detention based on a traffic violation, the State need not prove that the
    detainee actually committed a traffic violation. Drago v. State, 
    553 S.W.2d 375
    , 377 (Tex. Crim. App. 1977). Reasonable suspicion to believe that a
    violation occurred or is occurring will suffice. Ibid.; Valencia v. State, 
    820 S.W.2d 397
    , 400 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1991, pet. ref’d); see also
    7
    Texas Dep’t of Pub. Safety v. Celedon, No. 13-01-557-CV, 
    2002 WL 34230967
    ,
    at *3 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi Aug. 29, 2002, no pet.) (citing Valencia; not
    designated for publication).
    1.b     The legal standards applicable to reasonable suspicion
    should have required the trial court to consider the collective
    knowledge of the cooperating officers.
    When officers cooperate, a court must consider their cumulative
    information in determining whether reasonable suspicion exists at the time
    of the stop. Hoag v. State, 
    728 S.W.2d 375
    , 380 (Tex. Crim. App. 1987), cited
    with approval in Fonseca v. State, 
    881 S.W.2d 144
    , 150 (Tex. App.—Corpus
    Christi 1994, no pet.). A police dispatcher is considered a cooperating
    officer.    Martinez v. State, 
    348 S.W.3d 919
    , 924 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011)
    (construing Derichsweiler).
    1.b     The undisputed evidence showed that the cooperating
    officers had reason to suspect that Serda was speeding.
    The trial court based its ruling on the fact that Officer Castro, who
    was dispatched to help DPS Agent Walters stop Serda, did not see Serda
    commit any traffic violations. Supp. CR 17-18 (Findings ##7, 8; Conclusion
    8
    #2). However, the undisputed evidence before the trial court1 showed that
    Serda was speeding when being followed by DPS Agent Walters—
          Serda’s motion to suppress admitted he drove 80-100 miles per
    hour while being followed by DPS Agent Walters. CR 30.
          Serda testified at the suppression hearing that he was speeding
    over a distance of about 10 miles in an attempt to discern
    whether the vehicle driven by DPS Agent Walters was
    following him and to evade it. RR 2:40-41, 45-46.
          Serda’s counsel argued that he was speeding to evade Walters’s
    vehicle. RR 2:49.
          Officer Castro testified that she was dispatched to help DPS
    Agent Walters stop Castro for, among other reasons, speeding.
    RR 2:6.
    The unanimous, uncontroverted evidence that Serda was speeding over
    several miles while being followed by DPS Agent Walters—relayed to
    dispatch and Officer Castro—provided reasonable suspicion to stop Serda.
    McVickers, 874 S.W.2d at 664; Hoag, 728 S.W.2d at 380; Derichsweiler, 348
    S.W.3d at 914-15.2
    1
    Even before this Court, Serda continues to admit his speeding. Appellee’s
    Objection to State’s Motion to Abate and Remand at 1 (“[DPS Narcotics Agent Walters]
    chased appellee at very high speeds . . . .”).
    2
    The State acknowledges, as it stated above concerning the general legal
    standards, that a trial court’s findings of historical fact are entitled to almost total
    9
    2.    The trial court wrongly found no reasonable suspicion by weighing
    the relative innocence or guilt of Serda’s conduct.
    Serda boldly challenged reasonable suspicion to stop him while
    admitting that he was speeding. CR 30; RR 2:40-41, 45-46. He premised
    that position on the theory that his speeding was “innocent” because he
    thought he was being chased by an unknown driver. RR 2:51 (“My client
    said he was trying to avoid contact with someone that was chasing him,
    and I think he was driving at a reasonable speed . . . to do just that.”); but
    see RR 2:41-42 (admitting he could think of no reason that someone would
    chase him).
    deference. Here, however, the trial court made no findings on Serda’s speeding and the
    reason for Officer Castro’s dispatch (which included speeding). Thus, the trial court
    presumably felt that Serda’s speeding in DPS Agent Walters’s presence was irrelevant
    to its ruling, which is an erroneous legal conclusion under McVickers and Hoag.
    Further, had he trial court found that Serda was not speeding, it would have
    exceeded the deference that it enjoys when finding historical facts. Not only was the
    evidence uncontroverted and unanimous, Serda’s speeding was an integral part of his
    story that he thought he had to break the law to determine whether he was being
    followed and then to evade the pursuing driver. RR 2:40-41, 45-46. The trial court
    believed the story (Supp. CR 17 [Findings ##3, 4], 25) and would have had no basis to
    reject the essential subpart that Serda exceeded the speed limit when being followed by
    DPS Agent Walters.
    10
    2.a   The legal standards should have required the trial court to
    examine only the relative degree of suspicion arising from
    Serda’s conduct through the prism of the reasonable officer.
    Reasonable suspicion depends on whether the articulable facts would
    lead a reasonable officer to conclude that a person is, has been, or soon will
    be engaged in criminal activity.     E.g., Derichsweiler, 348 S.W.3d at 914.
    “[T]he relevant inquiry is not whether particular conduct is innocent or
    criminal, but the degree of suspicion that attaches to particular non-
    criminal acts.” Id. (quoting Woods v. State, 
    956 S.W.2d 33
    , 38 (Tex. Crim.
    App. 1997)). A defense to a traffic infraction does not negate reasonable
    suspicion to detain arising from the infraction. Praska v. State, 
    557 S.W.2d 83
    , 85-86 (Tex. Crim. App. 1977) (“The fact that appellant may have used a
    hand signal which Officer Alexander could not see from his vantage point
    is certainly a defense to the charge that he committed the traffic offense,
    but it just as certainly would not negate the officer’s justification for
    stopping appellant’s vehicle in the first place.”); see also In re J.M., 
    995 S.W.2d 838
    , 843 n.7 (Tex. App.—Austin 1999, no pet.) (“The fact that an
    11
    arrestee may offer exculpatory evidence to an officer that may later support
    a defense to criminal activity does not eliminate probable cause to arrest.”).
    2.b   The trial court, in effect, found a “paranoid speeding drunk”
    defense to reasonable suspicion.
    Serda’s motion to suppress presented the issue of justifying his
    admitted speeding based on his paranoia of being chased by an unknown
    driver. But what Serda subjectively believed is not part of a reasonable
    suspicion analysis because (1) a suspect’s thoughts are unknown to the
    officer; and (2) whether a suspect has a defense to speeding does not negate
    reasonable suspicion arising from speeding itself. Derichsweiler, 348 S.W.3d
    at 914; Praska, 557 S.W.2d at 85-86; see also Bland v. Texas Dep’t of Pub. Safety,
    No. 14-12-01057-CV, 
    2013 WL 3868447
    , at *4 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th
    Dist.] July 23, 2013, pet denied) (“Even if a fact finder later might determine
    that Bland’s speed was reasonable and prudent, that Bland was exceeding
    the posted speed limit supports the officer’s reasonable suspicion that
    Bland had committed a traffic violation.”; not designated for publication).
    Thus, regardless whether the trial judge thought that a paranoid drunk
    12
    might be justified in speeding away from an officer in an unmarked
    vehicle, that speeding provides reasonable suspicion to stop him.
    3.   The trial court’s findings show that the traffic stop was a
    consensual encounter requiring no reasonable suspicion.
    The trial court found—
    Before Defendant brought his vehicle to a stop, Defendant did
    not know that he was being followed by any police officers or
    agents or any authorities; he thought he was being chased by
    an unknown person.
    Supp. CR 17 (Finding #3).
    3.a     The legal standards recognize that some police-citizen
    encounters need not be supported by reasonable suspicion or
    probable cause.
    There      are   three   types   of    legally-recognized   police   citizen
    interactions—
    (1) consensual encounters that do not implicate the Fourth
    Amendment; (2) investigative detentions that are Fourth
    Amendment seizures of limited scope and duration that must
    be supported by a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity; and
    (3) arrests, the most intrusive of Fourth Amendment seizures,
    that are reasonable only if supported by probable cause. Police
    officers are as free as any other citizen to approach citizens to
    ask for information or cooperation. Such consensual encounters
    may be uncomfortable for a citizen, but they are not Fourth
    Amendment seizures.
    13
    Wade v. State, 
    422 S.W.3d 661
    , 667 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (footnotes
    omitted); see also Allen v. State, 13-13-00188-CR, 
    2014 WL 4402135
    , at *2-4
    (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi Sept. 4, 2014, no pet.) (discussing Wade; not
    designated for publication).
    No bright-line rule governs when a consensual encounter becomes a
    detention. Wade, at 667. Similar to probable cause, courts must take into
    account “the totality of the circumstances of the interaction to decide
    whether a reasonable person would have felt free to ignore the police
    officer’s request or terminate the consensual encounter.” Ibid. This is the
    Mendenhall test. Id. at 667-68 (citing United States v. Mendenhall, 
    446 U.S. 544
    , 554 (1980)). If ignoring the request or terminating the encounter is an
    option, then no Fourth Amendment seizure has occurred. Wade, at 668.
    But, if an officer through force or a show of authority succeeds in
    restraining a citizen in his liberty, the encounter is no longer consensual; it
    is a Fourth Amendment detention or arrest, subject to Fourth Amendment
    scrutiny. Ibid. The question of whether the particular facts show that a
    14
    consensual encounter has evolved into a detention is a legal issue that is
    reviewed de novo. Ibid.
    3.b   No detention occurs when a person pulls over without
    believing he is yielding to a law enforcement officer.
    A reasonable driver who believes he is being followed by a fellow
    citizen on the highway would not feel burdened by any decision as to
    whether to heed a police officer’s request and would feel free to continue
    on his way. Wade, 422 S.W.3d at 667-68. That Serda—enjoying “a pretty
    high BAC” (RR 2:20-21) and stopping to “get into a fight with somebody”
    (RR 2:42)—might have felt otherwise does not affect the analysis. Thus,
    Serda’s initial encounter with police was consensual and need not have
    been supported by reasonable suspicion. Wade, at 667.
    PRAYER
    For these reasons, the State requests that the Court reverse the trial
    court order granting Serda’s motion to suppress, remand for further
    proceedings, and grant the State all other proper relief.
    15
    Respectfully Submitted,
    /s/ A. Cliff Gordon
    A. Cliff Gordon
    Tex. Bar #00793838
    Asst. Dist. Atty., 105th Dist.
    Nueces County Courthouse
    901 Leopard St., Rm. 206
    Corpus Christi, TX 78401
    361.888.0410 phone
    361.888.0399 fax
    cliff.gordon@nuecesco.com
    CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
    According to the word count of the computer program used to
    prepare this document, it contains 4,000 words.
    CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
    On June 11, 2015, a true copy of the foregoing was served via eServe
    on the following:
    Mr. Travis W. Berry
    P.O. Box 6333
    Corpus Christi, TX 78401
    via email: travisberrylaw@gmail.com
    Appellate Counsel for Appellee
    /s/ A. Cliff Gordon_______________
    A. Cliff Gordon
    16