Scott Randall v. State of Indiana

FILED
Apr 26 2018, 8:37 am
CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Ruth Johnson Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Deborah Markisohn Attorney General of Indiana
Rory Gallagher Caryn N. Szyper
Marion County Public Defender Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Scott Randall, April 26, 2018
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A02-1708-CR-1779
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Clark Rogers,
Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
49G25-1607-F6-29473
Robb, Judge.
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Case Summary and Issues
[1] Scott Randall brings this interlocutory appeal from the trial court’s denial of his
motion to suppress evidence resulting from a police officer’s observations while
conducting a welfare check. The trial court concluded the welfare check was
supported by the community caretaking function. Randall now appeals
presenting three issues which we restate as: (1) whether the trial court
erroneously applied the community caretaking function; (2) whether Randall’s
seizure was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment to the United States
Constitution and Article 1, Section 11, of the Indiana Constitution; and (3)
whether Randall’s statements were made in violation of Miranda. Concluding
the trial court erroneously applied the community caretaking function but that
Randall’s seizure was reasonable under both the Fourth Amendment and
Article 1, Section 11 pursuant to the emergency aid doctrine, and that Randall’s
statements were not made in violation of Miranda, we affirm.
Facts and Procedural History 1
[2] Around 9:00 p.m. on July 29, 2016, Deputy Ashley Rose, a special deputy of
the Marion County Sheriff’s Office performing off-duty security work for St.
Vincent’s Hospital, was patrolling the same-day surgery parking lot when he
1
We heard oral argument at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, on April 9, 2018. We thank the
faculty—especially Professor Bruce Stinebrickner—staff, and students of DePauw University for their
generous hospitality and commend counsel for their skilled and informative oral advocacy.
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observed a man sitting in the driver’s seat of a black Ford Focus with the
driver’s door open and ignition off. The man, later identified as Randall,
“appeared to be leaning forward over the steering wheel” or “slumped over.”
Transcript, Volume 1 at 10-11.
[3] Deputy Rose decided to conduct a “welfare check” 2 and proceeded to pull
behind Randall’s car while activating his “overhead takedown lights.” 3 Id. at
10. As soon as Deputy Rose put his car in park, “Randall abruptly exited his
vehicle and started walking toward my vehicle at a fast pace.” Id. at 10.
Deputy Rose ordered Randall back to his car and Randall obliged, returning to
the driver’s seat of his car. Deputy Rose then approached Randall’s car and
began speaking with him while the driver’s door was still open. During this
time, Deputy Rose observed that Randall was speaking quickly, “sweating very
intensely,” and that he began “reaching around the car very nervously.” Id. at
12. Deputy Rose also observed a “folded square of aluminum foil” on the
dashboard of the car, which he believed to be consistent with narcotic use. Id.
[4] Suspecting drugs were in the car, Deputy Rose attempted to “find out what else
would be in the vehicle that would be paraphernalia or narcotics related.” Id. at
14. Specifically, Deputy Rose told Randall that he “had experience and I asked
him what else in the vehicle he would not want a canine officer to find.” Id. at
2
Deputy Rose later testified “[w]e’ve had people die in that lot . . . .” Id. at 17.
3
“Overhead take down lights” are white lights for “scene lighting[,]” not flashing red-and-blue lights. Id. at
18.
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17. Randall admitted that he had a marijuana pipe, and Deputy Rose then
instructed him to exit his vehicle. After Randall refused and began raising his
voice, another officer who had arrived on scene activated his taser and pointed
it at Randall while Deputy Rose placed Randall’s left wrist in a wrist lock.
[Randall] began crying immediately and stated it’s in the door,
it’s in the door. And so I had to, you know, ask him what are
you talking about. And he said that there was meth in the door.
And I looked to the left and clearly in plain view in the door in
the pocket I could see a clear plastic baggie which had a white
powdery substance in it.
Id. at 14-15. Randall was detained, placed in handcuffs, and seated nearby
while a search of the vehicle revealed methamphetamine and two marijuana
pipes. Because Deputy Rose had no further questions to ask Randall once he
was in custody, he “did not feel Miranda was required” and therefore, Randall
“was not read Miranda that night.” Id. at 16.
[5] Randall was subsequently charged with possession of methamphetamine, a
Level 6 felony, and two counts of possession of paraphernalia, both Class C
misdemeanors. Randall moved to suppress the evidence against him and the
trial court denied his motion after a hearing, concluding:
In this case, Officer Rose approached the Defendant for the
purpose of a welfare check, under his community caretaking
function, which allows for a seizure of the Defendant as long as it
reasonably takes to assess his wellbeing (as well as to provide aid
if necessary). Based on Officer Rose's testimony, he did not have
his concern for the Defendant's wellbeing alleviated by the
Defendant exiting his vehicle, ordering the Defendant to return
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to his vehicle for officer safety and then approaching - arguably a
seizure. Additionally, there are no facts alleged to suggest that
Officer Rose had any reasonable suspicion of a crime - he stated
that he saw a man slumped over his steering wheel and excitedly
exit his vehicle. Even if Officer Rose might have had a slight
suspicion that the Defendant had taken an illegal substance to
cause his incapacitated state, the objective reasoning of checking
on someone who clearly looks distressed, as well as the fact that
someone in an incapacitated state in a hospital parking lot could
have easily been caused by numerous other reasons, more than
outweighs such suspicion. More importantly, public need and
interest (i.e., we want Officer Rose to check on the wellbeing of
someone slumped over a steering wheel, and we do not want him
to prejudge the situation because he sees the person simply exit
his vehicle - assuming a person is fine seconds after being
incapacitated and not possibly still suffering from the effects of
whatever caused the incapacity could be tragic) significantly
outweigh the minimal intrusion upon the privacy of the
Defendant in this case (i.e., having to return to his vehicle and
briefly talk with Officer Rose about his wellbeing).
After reviewing the totality of the circumstances, balancing the
interests, and determining reasonableness, the Court finds that
Officer Rose acted reasonably and was justified in ordering the
Defendant to return to his vehicle and approaching the vehicle to
talk with the Defendant.
Appellant’s Appendix Volume II at 52.
[6] Randall filed a petition to certify the trial court’s order for interlocutory appeal
and for a stay of the proceedings, which the trial court granted on July 11, 2017.
This court accepted jurisdiction on September 18, 2017.
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Discussion and Decision
I. Standard of Review
[7] We review a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress in a manner similar to
other sufficiency matters. Taylor v. State, 69 N.E.3d 502, 505 (Ind. Ct. App.
2017).
The record must disclose substantial evidence of probative value
supporting the trial court’s decision. We do not reweigh the
evidence. We consider conflicting evidence most favorable to the
trial court’s ruling, but unlike other sufficiency matters, we must
also consider undisputed evidence favorable to the defendant.
Id. (internal citations omitted). Where, as here, an appellant’s challenge to such
a ruling is premised on a claimed constitutional violation, we review the issue
de novo because it raises clear questions of law. Guilmette v. State, 14 N.E.3d
38, 40-41 (Ind. 2014). We may affirm the trial court’s ruling if it is sustainable
on any legal basis in the record, even though it was not the reason that the trial
court enunciated. Scott v. State, 883 N.E.2d 147, 152 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).
II. Seizure
[8] The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons
or things to be seized.
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U.S. Const. amend IV.
[9] “Accordingly, a warrantless search or seizure is per se unreasonable, and the
State bears the burden to show that one of the well-delineated exceptions to the
warrant requirement applies.” M.O. v. State, 63 N.E.3d 329, 331 (Ind. 2016)
(quotations omitted). “[A] person is ‘seized’ . . . when, by means of physical
force or a show of authority, his freedom of movement is restrained.” U.S. v.
Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 553 (1980). On appeal, the State concedes that
Deputy Rose ordering Randall to return to his vehicle constituted a seizure.
Brief of Appellee at 10. The trial court found the seizure reasonable pursuant to
the community caretaking function and Randall now argues its application was
erroneous. Although we agree that the community caretaking function was
inapplicable on the facts presented, we nevertheless find Randall’s seizure
permissible under the emergency aid doctrine.
A. Community Caretaking Function
[10] Put simply, the community caretaking function is:
a catchall term for the wide range of responsibilities that police
officers must discharge aside from their criminal enforcement
activities. Indeed, besides enforcing criminal laws, police aid
those in distress, combat actual hazards, prevent potential
hazards . . . and provide an infinite variety of services to preserve
and protect community safety.
Wilford v. State, 50 N.E.3d 371, 375 (Ind. 2016) (citations and quotations
omitted).
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[11] In its Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order, the trial court relied
primarily on our decision in McNeal v. State, 62 N.E.3d 1275 (Ind. Ct. App.
2016), vacated in relevant part by McNeal v. State, 76 N.E.3d 136 (Ind. 2017).
There, a panel of this court adopted a three-prong analysis “for evaluating
claims of police community caretaking functions as set out by the Wisconsin
Supreme Court in State v. Kramer, 315 Wis.3d 414, 759 N.W.2d 598, 605
(2009).” McNeal, 62 N.E.3d at 1281. The trial court applied the Kramer three-
prong analysis before concluding Deputy Rose’s actions were justified by the
community caretaking function. Just a few weeks after the trial court’s order,
however, our supreme court issued its opinion in McNeal v. State, which
expressly vacated the Kramer analysis:
[McNeal] asks this Court to vacate a portion of the Court of
Appeals’ opinion discussing the community caretaking exception
to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement.
McNeal's request is well-taken. We now grant transfer, vacating
the Court of Appeals’ discussion of the community caretaking
function . . . .
76 N.E.3d at 137.
[12] Because our supreme court expressly vacated the Kramer analysis, Randall
alleges the trial court’s legal basis for denying his motion to suppress “cannot be
upheld.” Brief of Appellant at 13. We agree, and to the extent the trial court
applied the community caretaking function, such application was erroneous.
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[13] Our supreme court has only applied the community caretaking function as an
exception to the warrant requirement in the limited context of inventory
searches, and even then “only when the State meets a strict two-prong standard
for proving the warrantless impoundment was reasonable.” M.O., 63 N.E.3d at
332 n.2 (quotation omitted). However, as noted above, we may affirm the trial
court’s ruling if it is sustainable on any legal basis in the record, even though it
was not the reason that the trial court enunciated. Scott, 883 N.E.2d at 152.
B. Emergency Aid Doctrine
1. Fourth Amendment
[14] Although the trial court erroneously applied the community caretaking
function, its reasoning tracked another exception to the warrant requirement
with a basis in the record—the emergency aid doctrine. The emergency aid
doctrine is premised on the theory that police should be able to act without
obtaining a warrant when they reasonably believe a person needs immediate aid
or attention. Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 392 (1978). “The need to protect
or preserve life or avoid serious injury is justification for what would be
otherwise illegal absent an exigency or emergency.” Id. (quotation omitted).
Under the emergency aid doctrine, an officer may act without a warrant where
the officer had “an objectively reasonable basis for believing that medical
assistance was needed, or persons were in danger.” Michigan v. Fisher, 558 U.S.
45, 49 (2009) (quotations omitted).
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[15] Our supreme court recently explored the emergency aid doctrine through two
cases decided the same day: M.O. v. State, and Cruz-Salazar v. State, 63 N.E.3d
1055 (Ind. 2016). First, in M.O., the clerk of a gas station reported that a
woman was “stuck underneath her vehicle in the parking lot.” 63 N.E.3d at
330. By the time an officer arrived on scene, dispatch had advised the officer
that the woman was leaving the gas station and the officer observed her vehicle
leaving the parking lot. “[F]earing for her well-being[,]” the officer initiated a
traffic stop and approached her vehicle “where he observed no signs of physical
injury.” Id. at 330-31. The officer then engaged the defendant in conversation
and she explained why she had been stuck underneath her vehicle, but during
this conversation the officer observed signs of impairment and smelled the odor
of alcohol coming from the vehicle. The defendant was arrested, charged with
operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and later moved to suppress the evidence
claiming the traffic stop was invalid under both the Fourth Amendment to the
United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana
Constitution.
[16] On transfer,4 our supreme court turned to two cases that seemingly delineate the
boundaries of Indiana’s recognized emergency aid doctrine: Bruce v. State, 268
Ind. 180, 216, 375 N.E.2d 1042, 1062 (1978) (holding search of vehicle
revealing a shotgun used in murder prosecution was permissible where officer
4
The trial court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress and the Court of Appeals reversed. M.O. v. State,
54 N.E.3d 428, 439 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).
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was responding to a report of an accident with injury) and Trotter v. State, 933
N.E.2d 572, 577 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (holding search was impermissible where
there was no evidence that the defendant was in need of emergency assistance
where police responded to gunshots on private property and were told a man
had gone inside to use the bathroom and the police entered the barn to find the
man). Applying the reasoning of the two cases to the facts before it, the M.O.
Court explained:
Officer Arnold responded to a report that a woman was trapped
under her car, which undoubtedly could give rise to a reasonable
concern that emergency medical assistance was needed,
prompting further investigation, as in both Bruce and Trotter.
However, the actual facts he subsequently confronted did not
objectively support that concern: Officer Arnold learned that
M.O. had freed herself prior to his arrival at the gas station, M.O.
operated her vehicle normally, and Officer Arnold witnessed no
traffic infractions or criminal conduct. This is distinctly different
from Bruce, where the responding officer came upon facts
consistent with a continuing emergency, and thus the officer had
“no reasonable alternative” but to conduct a warrantless search
of the vehicle. Bruce, 268 Ind. at 216-17, 375 N.E.2d at 1062.
Rather, as in Trotter, while the evidence Officer Arnold observed
firsthand, when combined with the report, may have “indicat[ed]
a possible unsafe situation, such evidence does not establish an
exigency sufficient to justify [the] warrantless intrusion” of
stopping M.O.’s car. Trotter, 933 N.E.2d at 580.
We do not believe Officer Arnold’s assertion that he feared for
M.O.’s medical state was merely a pretext to conduct an
investigatory stop, but his subjective intent is not decisive: “[T]he
test is objective, and the government must establish that the
circumstances as they appear[ed] at the moment of [the stop]
would lead a reasonable, experienced law enforcement officer to
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believe that someone inside the [vehicle] required immediate
assistance.” Trotter, 933 N.E.2d at 579. And in a close case on
these unique facts, we err, if at all, on protecting the privacy
rights of Hoosiers against intrusion by the State. Accordingly,
we find that the State has failed to carry its burden of showing
that an exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth
Amendment justified the stop.
Id. at 333-34.
[17] In Cruz-Salazar v. State, an officer responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle
which had been parked in front of a residence for thirty minutes while still
running. 63 N.E.3d at 1055. The officer found the vehicle as described and
shined his spot light on the vehicle to find the defendant “sleeping or passed
out.” Id. After the defendant failed to respond to knocks on the window, the
officer opened the vehicle’s door and awoke the defendant by “shaking him a
little.” Id. at 1056. The officer then immediately observed behavior consistent
with intoxication and arrested the defendant for public intoxication. A
subsequent search incident to arrest revealed cocaine on his person. The trial
court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress and he was convicted
following a bench trial. On transfer, our supreme court cited its discussion of
the emergency aid exception in M.O., and proceeded directly to its application:
Police received a report of a stationary vehicle that had been
running for 30 minutes, in the early hours of a cold December
morning. This alone is sufficiently unusual to merit further
investigation, as it could be an indicator of distress. Police
arrived on scene to find the situation as reported, and indeed
worse: Cruz–Salazar was at the wheel of the vehicle, and was not
responsive when Officer Ayler both shined his flashlight through
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the windows or when he tapped on the window. At this point,
the officer had an objectively reasonable basis to open the door
and check on Cruz–Salazar’s well-being. Accordingly, we find
the warrantless entry into Cruz-Salazar’s vehicle permissible
under the Fourth Amendment to the Federal Constitution and
Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.
Id. at 1056-57 (citation omitted).
[18] Returning to the facts presented here, while patrolling a hospital parking lot
where he testified that people have died, Deputy Rose observed a man
appearing to be “slumped over” the steering wheel of his car with his driver’s
door open. Tr., Vol. 1 at 11. We believe these observations “could give rise to
a reasonable concern that emergency medical assistance was needed, prompting
further investigation . . . .” M.O., 63 N.E.3d at 333. Therefore, we conclude
that Deputy Rose had an objectively reasonable basis to believe that Randall
required medical assistance when he initially observed his vehicle.
[19] As Deputy Rose activated his overhead white lights and pulled behind Randall
to conduct a welfare check, Randall “abruptly exited his vehicle and started
walking toward [Deputy Rose’s] vehicle at a fast pace.” Tr., Vol. 1 at 10.
Deputy Rose then ordered Randall to return to his vehicle and he obliged, but
Randall argues that at this point in the encounter, although the facts may have
initially supported application of the emergency aid exception, “any such
concern dissipated once [he] promptly became alert and got out of his car
without incident.” Br. of Appellant at 16. In so arguing, Randall relies on the
facts of M.O., where, as discussed above, our supreme court concluded the facts
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did not support an exigency sufficient to justify the warrantless intrusion of
stopping M.O.’s car. M.O., 63 N.E.3d at 333. Concluding the facts that
Deputy Rose confronted objectively supported his concern and constituted an
exigency sufficient to justify Randall’s brief seizure, we find Cruz-Salazar
controlling and M.O. distinguishable.
[20] We disagree that Randall’s behavior immediately dispelled Deputy Rose’s
concern. The trial court found that “[b]ased on Officer Rose’s testimony, he
did not have his concern for [Randall’s] wellbeing alleviated by [Randall]
exiting his vehicle . . . .” Appellant’s App., Vol. II at 52. On appeal, Randall
alleges that the trial court’s finding is unsupported by the record because “there
is no testimony that Deputy Rose remained concerned for Randall’s well-being
after Randall became alert and approached [Deputy Rose’s vehicle].” Br. of
Appellant at 19. Instead, Randall points to Deputy Rose’s testimony that he
“ordered him back to his vehicle . . . for concerns of officer safety,” tr., vol. 1 at
10, and the facts that Deputy Rose never asked about Randall’s well-being or
inquired as to whether he required medical attention as evidencing that
Randall’s detention was unrelated to any ongoing emergency.
[21] Having concluded there was an objectively reasonable basis to believe Randall
initially required medical assistance, we also conclude that his subsequent
behavior—quickly becoming alert, exiting his vehicle, and approaching Deputy
Rose’s vehicle at a fast pace—objectively supported that concern, even if that
same behavior dispelled any suspicion that Randall was dead or unconscious.
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See Fisher, 558 U.S. at 49 (noting that “Officers do not need ironclad proof of a
likely serious, life-threatening injury to invoke the emergency aid exception.”).
[22] Moreover, we do not view Deputy Rose ordering Randall to return to his
vehicle for “concerns of officer safety,” tr., vol. 1 at 10, as necessarily negating
his concern for Randell’s well-being. Concerns of officer safety and the
emergency aid exception are not mutually exclusive. See Jones v. State, 54
N.E.3d 1033, 1039 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016) (holding a protective sweep under
emergency aid exception was permissible where it was conducted before the
underlying concern of the emergency aid exception was dissipated). And,
unlike the traffic stop in M.O., conducted after the vehicle safely left the gas
station and after the officer observed M.O. safely operating her vehicle, the facts
that Deputy Rose confronted were uncertain and rapidly evolving: Randall was
suddenly alert and approaching Deputy Rose’s vehicle at a “fast pace” just
moments after appearing “slumped over” his steering wheel. Tr., Vol. 1 at 10.
Therefore, mindful of our deference to the trial court’s determination of facts,
we cannot say that Deputy Rose’s concern for Randall’s safety dissipated
immediately after Randall exited his vehicle. Because Deputy Rose possessed
an objectively reasonable concern for Randall’s safety, we conclude Randall’s
brief seizure was permissible under the emergency aid exception.
2. Article 1, Section 11
[23] Randall also argues that his seizure was unreasonable under Article 1, Section
11 of the Indiana Constitution.
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[24] Although Article 1, Section 11 shares the same language as the Fourth
Amendment, we nevertheless interpret and apply the provision independently.
State v. Bulington, 802 N.E.2d 435, 438 (Ind. 2004). Notably, instead of
“focusing on the defendant’s reasonable expectation of privacy, we focus on the
actions of the police officer, and employ a totality-of-the-circumstances test to
evaluate the reasonableness of the officer’s actions.” Duran v. State, 930 N.E.2d
10, 17 (Ind. 2010) (internal quotations omitted). We give Article 1, Section 11
“a liberal construction in favor of protecting individuals from unreasonable
intrusions on privacy.” Rush v. State, 881 N.E.2d 46, 52 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).
Further, it is the State’s burden to prove its intrusion was reasonable under the
circumstances. Bulington, 802 N.E.2d at 438. To determine reasonableness, we
consider: “1) the degree of concern, suspicion, or knowledge that a violation
has occurred, 2) the degree of intrusion the method of the search or seizure
imposes on the citizen’s ordinary activities, and 3) the extent of law
enforcement needs.” Litchfield v. State, 824 N.E.2d 356, 361 (Ind. 2005).
[25] Beginning with the first factor, Randall argues that suspicion a violation
occurred was “nonexistent.” Br. of Appellant at 22. While true, the State
raises an interesting issue in that the Litchfield opinion was written in the
criminal context and notes that our supreme court has never specifically
addressed how to apply the first Litchfield factor outside a criminal investigation.
Br. of Appellee at 20. Indeed, although our supreme court mentioned the
Litchfield factors in M.O., the court never expressly addressed them but rather
simply explained that, “Given that our extensive Fourth Amendment analysis .
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. . also discusses these factors, we see no need to repeat that discussion here,”
before concluding that the traffic stop was also impermissible under the Indiana
Constitution. M.O., 63 N.E. at 334. As discussed in more detail above,
however, the Court addressed the officer’s concern for M.O.’s safety in the
context of the Fourth Amendment and explained that while the concern was
reasonable when responding to a report of a woman stuck under her car—the
“actual facts” he confronted “did not objectively support that concern.” Id.
Conversely, in Cruz-Salazar, the supreme court found that opening the door of a
vehicle was reasonable where it had been running for thirty minutes and its
occupant was unresponsive to police attempts to awake him. 63 N.E.3d at
1056-57.
[26] The combination of the two cases suggests that the “the degree of concern,
suspicion, or knowledge that a violation has occurred,” Litchfield, 824 N.E.2d at
361, can be read in the context of the emergency aid exception as “the degree of
concern that emergency medical assistance was needed,” M.O., 63 N.E.3d at
333. As noted above, Deputy Rose’s initial degree of concern was high—he
encountered a man slumped over a steering wheel with his door open in a
hospital parking lot where people had previously died. Tr., Vol. 1 at 11.
Although that concern may have lowered when Randall exited his vehicle, his
objectively reasonable concern remained.
[27] The second factor is “the degree of intrusion the method of the search or seizure
imposes on the citizen’s ordinary activities.” Litchfield, 824 N.E.2d at 361.
Deputy Rose ordered Randall to return to his vehicle before approaching the
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driver’s side and speaking with him through his driver’s door. Although the
State admits that Randall was seized for the purposes of the Fourth
Amendment, the degree of intrusion was low because Deputy Rose simply
directed Randall to return to his own vehicle—the place where he had been just
moments before. Compare State v. Cunningham, 26 N.E.3d 21, 26 (Ind. 2015)
(noting that ordering an occupant to remain in the car is a “lesser” intrusion)
with Trotter, 933 N.E.2d at 582 (noting the degree of officer’s intrusion was
“immense” where officers entered a structure attached to private residence).
[28] Finally, despite the extent of law enforcement needs being relatively low, we
conclude that the balancing of a high concern and minimal intrusion weighs in
favor of Randall’s brief seizure. Accordingly, we conclude the seizure was
permissible under Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.
III. Miranda
[29] Next, Randall argues his incriminating statements were made in violation of
Miranda and that the evidence resulting therefrom was fruit of the poisonous
tree. The State responds that Randall was not in custody for the purposes of
Miranda. We agree with the State and conclude that Randall’s seizure was no
more custodial than a routine traffic stop.
[30] Here, after observing Randall’s various behaviors and a small piece of folded
aluminum foil that Deputy Rose believed to be consistent with narcotic use,
Deputy Rose told Randall that he “had experience” and asked him “what else
[was] in the vehicle he would not want a canine officer to find.” Tr., Vol. 1 at
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17. In response, Randall confessed to having a marijuana pipe and Deputy
Rose ordered Randall out of his vehicle in order to conduct a search. When
Randall failed to comply, Deputy Rose placed him in a wrist lock and another
officer aimed a taser at him. Deputy Rose then testified:
[Randall] began crying immediately and stated it’s in the door,
it’s in the door. And so I had to, you know, ask him what are
you talking about. And he said that there was meth in the door.
And I looked to the left and clearly in plain view in the door in
the pocket I could see a clear plastic baggie which had a white
powdery substance in it.
Tr., Vol. 1 at 14-15.
[31] “[T]he prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or
inculpatory, stemming from custodial interrogation of the defendant unless it
demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege
against self-incrimination.” Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444 (1966).
Prior to any custodial interrogation, “the person must be warned that he has a
right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence
against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either
retained or appointed.” Id. Statements elicited in violation of Miranda
generally are inadmissible in a criminal trial. Loving v. State, 647 N.E.2d 1123,
1125 (Ind. 1995). The triggering requirement for a Miranda warning is
“custodial interrogation.” State v. Brown, 70 N.E.3d 331, 335 (Ind. 2017).
[32] “‘Interrogation’ for the purposes of Miranda constitutes questions, words, or
actions that the officer knows or should know are reasonably likely to elicit an
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incriminating response.” Id. Undoubtedly, Deputy Rose knew his question,
asking Randall “what else [was] in the vehicle he would not want a canine
officer to find,” was likely to elicit an incriminating response. Tr., Vol. 1 at 17.
Therefore, this issue turns on whether Randall was in custody at the time of
Deputy Rose’s questioning.
[33] Randall argues that he was in custody for the purposes of Miranda because “no
reasonable person in his shoes would have felt free to terminate the questioning
and leave the parking lot.” Br. of Appellant at 28. Although that indeed may
be true, Randall’s argument confuses a seizure under the Fourth Amendment
with custody under the Fifth Amendment. Our supreme court recently
explained this issue in Brown:
to the extent that Brown is arguing that a seizure under the
Fourth Amendment is akin to custody under the Fifth
Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that this is
not the case. The test of whether a defendant is in custody is not
whether a defendant feels free to go, but rather whether there was a
formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement of the degree associated
with a formal arrest. Further, the United States Supreme Court has
repeatedly held that a person temporarily detained in an ordinary
traffic stop is not in custody for the purposes of Miranda. In
Berkemer [v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420 (1984)], the U.S. Supreme
Court made clear that a traffic stop “significantly curtails the
‘freedom of action’ of the driver” and that “[c]ertainly few
motorists would feel free to disobey a direction to pull over or
leave the scene of a traffic stop without being told they might do
so.” Berkemer, 468 U.S. at 436-37. Thus, it concluded that a
traffic stop is a “seizure” within the meaning of the Fourth
Amendment. Nevertheless, the Court declined to find that this
seizure was custody for Miranda purposes. Id. at 437. Our
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Court has similarly held that a suspect who was stopped and
“seized” for purposes of the Fourth Amendment is not ordinarily
in custody. Meredith v. State, 906 N.E.2d 867, 873-74 (Ind. 2009).
70 N.E.3d at 335-36 (emphasis added) (some citations and quotations omitted).
[34] Although Randall’s seizure was initiated by the emergency aid exception, it
quickly evolved into a criminal investigation. See Cruz-Salazar, 63 N.E.3d at
1056 (emergency aid exception evolving into criminal investigation); State v.
Gray, 997 N.E.2d 1147, 1152 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013) (“Once a justifiable stop is
made, the scope of the officer’s investigation may be broadened beyond the
purpose for which the person was stopped only if additional particularized and
objective suspicions come to light.”), trans. denied. Thus, for purposes of
Miranda, we find no meaningful distinction between this encounter and a traffic
stop—or a Terry stop, for that matter. In Berkemer, the United States Supreme
Court noted two reasons why those two types of encounters do not trigger
Miranda. First, it emphasized the temporary and brief nature of the stop:
“questioning incident to an ordinary traffic stop is quite different from
stationhouse interrogation, which frequently is prolonged, and in which the
detainee often is aware that questioning will continue until he provides his
interrogators the answers they seek.” Berkemer at 438. Second, it noted the
public nature of the stop: “[t]he atmosphere surrounding an ordinary traffic stop
is substantially less ‘police dominated’ than that surrounding the kinds of
interrogation at issue in Miranda . . . .” Id. at 438-39.
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[35] Both reasons apply to the facts presented here. The record reveals that Deputy
Rose only asked one question before Randall admitted to the possession of
paraphernalia and the seizure occurred in a public hospital parking lot. See
Brown, 70 N.E.3d at 336-37 (concluding an Arby’s parking lot was “at least as
public as a routine traffic stop”). Although Randall argues Deputy Rose
engaged in subterfuge by mentioning a police canine, we conclude his seizure
was no more custodial than a routine traffic stop.
Conclusion
[36] Despite the trial court erroneously applying the community caretaking function,
its ruling was sustainable on the emergency aid exception. We therefore
conclude that Randall’s seizure was reasonable and his statements were not
made in violation of Miranda. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s denial of
Randall’s motion to suppress.
[37] Affirmed.
Crone, J., and Altice, J., concur.
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