Luis A. Montes-Valeton v. State of Florida

Supreme Court of Florida
____________
No. SC14-1672
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LUIS A. MONTES-VALETON,
Petitioner,
vs.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Respondent.
[February 23, 2017]
CANADY, J.
Luis A. Montes-Valeton seeks review of the decision of the Third District
Court of Appeal in Montes-Valeton v. State, 141 So. 3d 204 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014),
on the ground that it expressly and directly conflicts with a decision of this Court,
Voorhees v. State, 699 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 1997), on a question of law. We have
jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. The case turns on whether a blood
draw after a traffic accident was constitutionally permissible under the fellow
officer rule. We conclude that the Third District impermissibly relied on the
fellow officer rule when there had been no communication concerning the suspect
from the officer possessing probable cause to the officer effecting the search. We
also reject the Third District’s alternative conclusion that voluntary consent
supported the blood draw. We therefore quash the decision of the Third District.
I. BACKGROUND
On June 7, 2008, Montes-Valeton was involved in a single-vehicle car crash
in which a single fatality occurred. After the State filed a three-count information
charging Montes-Valeton with DUI Manslaughter, DUI Damage to Property or
Person, and Careless Driving, Montes-Valeton filed a motion to suppress the
results of an analysis of blood drawn from him following the car crash. On March
19, 2012, the trial court held a hearing on the motion to suppress.
Sergeant Luis Alexander Tejera, the first law enforcement officer to respond
to the scene of the crash, testified at the hearing that he observed Montes-Valeton’s
vehicle rolled over on its side and surrounded by a number of people on Interstate
95. Upon speaking to Montes-Valeton, Sergeant Tejera noticed that he was
worried, disoriented, confused, and that he emitted an odor of alcohol about his
breath. Sergeant Tejera became concerned that Montes-Valeton may have been
under the influence of alcohol. Soon thereafter, Sergeant Tejera delegated the role
of lead traffic crash investigator to Trooper Victor Molina and thereby engaged in
general communications with Trooper Molina. There is no indication in the record
that Sergeant Tejera communicated his concerns about Montes-Valeton’s possible
intoxication to Trooper Molina or to any other law enforcement officer.
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Trooper Molina testified at the hearing that he performed routine
investigative functions at the scene of the crash including speaking to witnesses
and examining physical evidence such as tire marks and skid marks. During the
course of his investigation, Trooper Molina approached Montes-Valeton to
question him about the car crash. After this initial encounter, Trooper Molina
asked if Montes-Valeton would consent to a blood draw. Trooper Molina then
read the implied consent warnings that came with the blood draw kit to Montes-
Valeton. Thereafter, Montes-Valeton agreed to the blood draw by signing a
written consent form provided by Trooper Molina that stated, “I have granted
permission for blood samples to be taken.” Trooper Molina oversaw the blood
draw performed by fire rescue and determined that Montes-Valeton was at fault for
the traffic crash.
At the hearing, Montes-Valeton argued that the trial court should grant the
motion to suppress because Trooper Molina lacked probable cause to extract blood
from him under section 316.1933, Florida Statutes (2008). The State countered
that the blood evidence should not be suppressed because it was a consensual
blood draw. The State further asserted that probable cause existed for the officers
to believe that Montes-Valeton was driving under the influence of alcohol at the
time of the car crash. The trial court denied the motion to suppress.
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At trial, Trooper Molina testified that he did not detect the odor of alcohol
while speaking to Montes-Valeton and that he could not recall whether Montes-
Valeton appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. In response to questioning
by defense counsel, Trooper Molina testified that
whenever there’s a DUI, we read you an implied consent, basically
saying that as a law enforcement agency, we are requesting for either
blood, urine, or breath to determine your alcohol contents or if there
[are] any drug[] contents in your body. And if you refuse to submit to
any of these tests, the State of Florida suspends your license for 12
months, 18 months i[f] you have [had your license] suspended before
like that.
Trooper Molina further testified that he read an implied consent to Montes-
Valeton, and that he explained Florida’s implied consent law to Montes-Valeton.
After the State rested, Montes-Valeton renewed all of his previous motions—
including his motion to suppress—and moved for a judgment of acquittal. The
trial court denied Montes-Valeton’s motion for judgment of acquittal. The jury
ultimately found Montes-Valeton guilty of DUI Serious Bodily Injury, a lesser
included offense, and the trial court sentenced him to five years of incarceration.
Montes-Valeton appealed his conviction and sentence to the Third District.
He claimed that the trial court erred by admitting the blood test results because
Trooper Molina did not have probable cause to believe he was under the influence
of alcoholic beverages before requiring him to submit to the blood draw as
required by section 316.1933(1)(a). Montes-Valeton, 141 So. 3d at 207.
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On appeal, the Third District affirmed Montes-Valeton’s conviction and
sentence. Id. at 209. The Third District concluded that “the record reflects that the
law enforcement officer did not require [Montes-Valeton] to submit to the blood
test” and “the law enforcement officer obtained the blood sample after [Montes-
Valeton] voluntarily consented to the blood draw.” Id. at 207. As an alternative
holding, the Third District concluded that “even if [Montes-Valeton] had not
‘voluntarily’ consented to the blood draw . . . the blood draw was also supported
by probable cause” under the fellow officer rule. Id. The Third District reasoned
that
although Sergeant Luis Tejera is the officer that smelled the odor of
alcohol coming from [Montes-Valeton’s] breath and determined that
[Montes-Valeton] was the driver of the vehicle involved in this single-
vehicle accident in which the passenger was ejected and was
transported from the scene in serious condition, under the fellow
officer rule, Trooper Molina had probable cause to request that
[Montes-Valeton] provide the blood drawn by fire rescue.
Id. In doing so, the Third District cited this Court’s explanation of the fellow
officer rule in Voorhees. Id. at 207-08.
II. ANALYSIS
We consider two arguments presented by Montes-Valeton related to the
blood draw. First, we address the claim that the fellow officer rule was
inapplicable because there was no communication between the officers concerning
Montes-Valeton. Second, we consider the contention that the consent given by
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Montes-Valeton was involuntary because it was given in response to coercive
direction threatening punishment for refusal to consent by an officer lacking
probable cause. The two arguments are interrelated. Because Montes-Valeton
prevails on the first argument, he also prevails on the second one.
A. Fellow Officer Rule
We first address whether Trooper Molina had probable cause under the
fellow officer rule. “In broad terms, the collective knowledge of police
investigating a crime is imputed to each member under a rule of law often called
the ‘fellow officer rule’ or ‘collective knowledge doctrine.’ ” Johnson v. State,
660 So. 2d 648, 657 (Fla. 1995). The primary purpose of the fellow officer rule is
“to assist officers investigating in the field to make arrests and conduct searches”
because “an officer in the field may need to act immediately based upon what he or
she is told by a fellow officer.” State v. Bowers, 87 So. 3d 704, 707-08 (Fla. 2012)
(emphasis added). “The fellow officer rule allows an arresting officer to assume
probable cause to arrest a suspect from information supplied by other officers.”
Voorhees, 699 So. 2d at 609.
In Voorhees, two men fled from Florida to Mississippi after committing a
murder. Id. at 605. Thereafter, Mississippi officers offered both men a place to
stay in the local jail on a cold and rainy evening in accordance with local custom.
Id. Both men accepted and Voorhees provided the officers with a fictitious name.
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Id. The next day, the officers ran a check on Voorhees’ fictitious name and would
not permit him to leave the jail until he provided his true identity. Id. at 605-06.
Voorhees called a friend to confirm his fictitious name, but the friend instead
notified the Mississippi officers that Pasco County officers were looking for
Voorhees in connection with a murder. Id. at 606. The Mississippi officers then
called the Pasco County Sheriff’s Department which confirmed that Voorhees was
wanted in connection with a murder. Id.
This Court found that “Voorhees’ detention was legal beginning at the time
that the Mississippi officers became aware that Voorhees and Sager were wanted
for a murder in Pasco County.” Id. at 610. Prior to this point in time, the
Mississippi officers and their Pasco County counterparts were involved in
unrelated investigations and had not engaged in any communications regarding the
murder investigation. But once the Pasco County officers communicated the
critical fact that Voorhees was wanted for murder to the Mississippi officers, the
fellow officer rule applied and the detention of Voorhees by the Mississippi
officers became legal. See id.
We reaffirm our holding in Voorhees that “[t]he fellow officer rule allows an
arresting officer to assume probable cause to arrest a suspect from information
supplied by other officers.” Id. at 609 (emphasis added). Consistent with
Voorhees, we recognize that the fellow officer rule does not allow an officer to
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assume probable cause for an arrest or a search and seizure from uncommunicated
information known solely by other officers. Id.
The State argues that the fellow officer rule applies in this case simply
because Sergeant Tejera engaged in “general communications” with Trooper
Molina regarding the same investigation. But this assertion is inconsistent with our
case law.
[The fellow officer rule] typically requir[es] a direct communications
link between officers who possess probable cause and the arresting
officer. This often takes the form of a direct order that the arrest be
effected, United States v. Woods, 544 F.2d 242 (6th Cir. 1976), cert.
denied, 429 U.S. 1062 (1977), but also can consist of general
communications among officers at least one of whom possesses
probable cause. United States v. Edwards, 885 F.2d 377 (7th Cir.
1989).
Johnson, 660 So. 2d at 657. The officer conducting the search or arrest must be
“act[ing] . . . based upon what he or she is told by a fellow officer.” Bowers, 87
So. 3d at 708. Nothing in the record indicates that Sergeant Tejera or any other
officer directed Trooper Molina to take a blood draw from Montes-Valeton, gave
any indication that probable cause existed for such a blood draw, or communicated
anything regarding Montes-Valeton to Trooper Molina. Without the
communication to the arresting officer of some information that initiates the arrest,
the predicate for application of the fellow officer rule is lacking. Trooper Molina
therefore lacked imputed probable cause knowledge of Montes-Valeton’s
intoxication under the fellow officer rule. See Edwards, 885 F.2d at 382 (“A
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supervising officer’s knowledge about a defendant cannot be relied upon to
provide probable cause for his arrest where there is no evidence that such
knowledge was communicated to the agents on the scene who actually made or
ordered the defendant’s arrest.”).
B. Voluntariness of Consent
We now address whether the blood draw was permissible because Montes-
Valeton voluntarily gave his consent. “[T]he Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments
require that a consent not be coerced, by explicit or implicit means, by implied
threat or covert force.” Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 228 (1973); see
Bumper v. N. Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 550 (1968) (“Where there is coercion there
cannot be consent.”). “The question of whether a consent is voluntary is a question
of fact to be determined from the totality of the circumstances.” Reynolds v. State,
592 So. 2d 1082, 1086 (Fla. 1992). “[I]t is not the presence or absence of any one
factor alone that determines the validity of a consent. The question turns on the
particular circumstances of each case.” Id. at 1087. In the absence of an illegal
detention or other illegal conduct on the part of police, “the voluntariness of
the consent must be established by a preponderance of the evidence.” Id. at 1086.
“Where there is an illegal detention or other illegal conduct on the part of the
police, a consent will be found voluntary only if there is clear and convincing
evidence that the consent was not a product of the illegal police action.” Id.
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When examining the voluntariness of a person’s consent under the totality of
the circumstances, Florida courts have considered a non-exclusive list of factors
including: (1) the time and place of the encounter; (2) the number of officers
present; (3) the officers’ words and actions; (4) the age and maturity of the
defendant; (5) the defendant’s prior contacts with the police; (6) whether the
defendant executed a written consent form; (7) whether the defendant was
informed that he or she could refuse to give consent; and (8) the length of time the
defendant was interrogated before consent was given. See, e.g., State v.
Hernandez, 146 So. 3d 163, 165 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014).
The State argues that Montes-Valeton voluntarily consented to the blood
draw. We disagree. After asking Montes-Valeton to consent to a blood draw,
Trooper Molina read the implied consent warnings that came with the blood draw
kit to Montes-Valeton. The warnings threatened that a refusal would result in the
suspension of his driver license. Trooper Molina further explained Florida’s
“implied consent law”1 to him. But because Trooper Molina lacked probable cause
1. The implied consent law consists of sections 316.1932, 316.1933, and
316.1934, Florida Statutes (2008), “which essentially require all persons accepting
a license to drive in Florida to consent to a blood-alcohol test upon being arrested
for driving under the influence.” Robertson v. State, 604 So. 2d 783, 789 n.4 (Fla.
1992). The record before this Court does not provide full details concerning what
Trooper Molina explained to Montes-Valeton regarding Florida’s implied consent
law.
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to require the blood draw under section 316.1933(1)(a), neither the implied consent
warnings nor Florida’s implied consent law applied to Montes-Valeton. See, e.g.,
Robertson v. State, 604 So. 2d 783, 790 n.7 (Fla. 1992) (“[T]he implied consent
statute . . . appl[ies] only when blood is being taken from a person based on
probable cause that the person has caused death or serious bodily injury as a result
of a DUI offense specified in the statutes.”); State v. Murray, 51 So. 3d 593, 595
n.1 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011) (“Here, [the defendants] were not under lawful arrest and
did not seek medical treatment, and the troopers did not have probable cause to
believe that they were impaired. Consequently, the implied consent law was
clearly not implicated.”); State v. Burnett, 536 So. 2d 375, 377 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)
(“Here, the first requirement [of section 316.1932(1)(c)] was not met.
Accordingly, section 316.1932(1)(c) was not applicable to this situation; therefore,
the implied consent warning should not have been given to [the defendant].”).
Montes-Valeton was thus improperly threatened with punishment.
The fact that Trooper Molina improperly threatened Montes-Valeton with
the suspension of his driver license for refusing to give consent to the blood draw
renders his consent involuntary. See, e.g., State v. Slaney, 653 So. 2d 422, 430
(Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (“[W]here, as here, a DUI arrestee consents to a blood
withdrawal after being improperly advised that he will lose his driver’s license if
he fails to give such consent, the ensuing consent is involuntary in nature because
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it was induced by a misrepresentation.”); see also Cooper v. State, 587 S.E.2d 605,
612 (Ga. 2003) (“Consequently, the trooper completely misled [the defendant],
albeit unintentionally, about his implied consent rights, and any consent based
upon the misrepresentation is invalid.”). Because of the coercion arising from the
improper threat, Montes-Valeton’s consent was involuntary.
CONCLUSION
The Third District erroneously applied the fellow officer rule and
erroneously concluded that Montes-Valeton voluntarily consented to the blood
draw. We therefore quash the decision of the Third District and remand for
proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, and POLSTON, JJ.,
concur.
LAWSON, J., did not participate.
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING MOTION, AND
IF FILED, DETERMINED.
Application for Review of the Decision of the District Court of Appeal – Direct
Conflict of Decisions
Third District - Case No. 3D12-2063
(Miami-Dade County)
Richard C. Klugh, Jr., and John E. Bergendahl of Law Offices of John E.
Bergendahl, Miami, Florida
for Petitioner
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Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida; and Richard L. Polin,
Bureau Chief, and Meghdut Robert Martinez Biswas, Assistant Attorney General,
Miami, Florida,
for Respondent
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