State Of Utah v. Roybal

232 P.3d 1016

2010 UT 34

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Petitioner,v.Jose Baltarcar ROYBAL, Defendant and Respondent.

No. 20080776.

Supreme Court of Utah.

May 14, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Mark L. Shurtleff, Att'y Gen., Ryan D. Tenney, Asst. Att'y Gen., Salt Lake City, for petitioner.

Randall W. Richards, Ogden, for respondent.

Stewart P. Ralphs, Salt Lake City, for Amicus.

On Certiorari to the Utah Court of Appeals

WILKINS, Justice:

INTRODUCTION

¶ 1 Defendant Jose Baltarcar Roybal was convicted of one count of driving under the influence of alcohol. Before trial, he moved to suppress the admission of the evidence obtained from a traffic stop, arguing that the traffic stop constituted an unreasonable search and seizure in violation of his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as article I, section 14 of the Utah Constitution. The district court denied his motion to suppress, but the court of appeals reversed. We granted certiorari on one issue-whether the majority of the panel of the court of appeals erred in reversing the district court's determination that there was a reasonable, articulable suspicion to stop Roybal. We reverse.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 “ ‘The legal analysis of search and seizure cases is highly fact dependent.’ ” State v. Alverez, 2006 UT 61, ¶ 2, 147 P.3d 425 (quoting State v. Brake, 2004 UT 95, ¶ 2, 103 P.3d 699). “Therefore, we give a detailed recitation of the facts.” Id.

¶ 3 On August 8, 2005, a police dispatcher received a 911 call from Jose Baltarcar Roybal's live-in girlfriend, Annalee McCaine, requesting police assistance in a dispute between the two. McCaine was upset and stated that she wanted the person living with her out of the house. The dispatcher asked her whether she had been assaulted, to which McCaine responded, “Just about, yes.” Later, however, the dispatcher clarified, “And he hasn't assaulted you?” to which McCaine replied, “No.” When the dispatcher asked if Roybal had been drinking, McCaine replied, “We both have. And you might have to take both of [us].” She said that she did not care, she “just want[ed] him out.” After the dispatcher told McCaine to “take a couple of deep breaths,” McCaine identified Roybal as her roommate and gave the dispatcher Roybal's first and last names, age, and ethnicity. Earlier, McCaine gave the dispatcher her own first and last names, her phone number, and her address. McCaine also reported that Roybal was “out putting stuff in his van” and was “leaving,” and gave a description of the van and a partial license plate number. After Roybal pulled out of the driveway, McCaine told the dispatcher which road Roybal was on and the direction that he was heading. The district court later observed, after listening to a recording of the call, that McCaine sounded intoxicated.

¶ 4 Based on the call, the 911 dispatcher sent out a bulletin requesting police officer assistance. Sergeant Chad Ledford responded. The dispatcher informed Ledford that a “[m]ale and a female [were] verbally fighting, no weapons, both parties are very intoxicated.” The dispatcher also identified Roybal, gave the make and color of his vehicle and his direction of travel, and stated that he was “1055,” police code meaning that a driver may be intoxicated.

¶ 5 While traveling eastbound on 30th Street toward McCaine's residence, Sergeant Ledford saw Roybal's van approaching on an adjoining street, Brinker Avenue. Although there was no oncoming traffic, Roybal sat at the stop sign for a few seconds before turning right onto 30th. Sergeant Ledford testified that as Roybal turned the corner and approached Sergeant Ledford, he drove “really, really slow.” The speed limit on 30th was 35 miles per hour (mph), but Sergeant Ledford estimated that Roybal was driving between 5 and 25 mph. Sergeant Ledford was stopped at the stop light at the intersection of 30th and Harrison Boulevard. As he watched Roybal approach him from the rear, it appeared to Sergeant Ledford that Roybal was hoping the red light would change and Sergeant Ledford would go through the intersection before Roybal arrived. However, the light did not change, and Roybal pulled in next to Sergeant Ledford at the light, stopped for a few seconds, then made another right turn onto Harrison Boulevard. Sergeant Ledford followed. Roybal continued to drive below the speed limit and made another right-hand turn onto Patterson Avenue. It appeared to Sergeant Ledford that Roybal was trying to avoid him.

¶ 6 Based on his observations, Sergeant Ledford suspected that Roybal was drunk. Sergeant Ledford testified that through his training and experience, he has come to recognize slow driving as a sign of intoxication because when someone has been drinking, their fine motor skills and thinking are impaired, causing them to drive more slowly. Sergeant Ledford asserted that in an effort to avoid police, impaired drivers will also slow down and stay behind police vehicles. Sergeant Ledford testified that Roybal had engaged in these exact behaviors. He also acknowledged that Roybal had not violated any traffic laws.

¶ 7 Sergeant Ledford also testified that he suspected Roybal of committing domestic violence. He knew from the 911 dispatch bulletin that there had been a domestic dispute that had prompted a 911 call. Department policy thus required him to interview both the victim and the suspect. In addition, Sergeant Ledford testified that suspects will often leave the house initially but circle back and return to the scene if the police do not arrive. Because Roybal was driving a slow, circuitous route in the vicinity of McCaine's house, Sergeant Ledford's concern increased.

¶ 8 Sergeant Ledford pulled Roybal over approximately twelve blocks from McCaine's home. Because he could smell alcohol as he approached the car, and because Roybal failed a number of field-sobriety tests, Sergeant Ledford arrested Roybal for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).

¶ 9 The State subsequently charged Roybal with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol, a third degree felony, in violation of Utah Code section 41-6a-502 (2005).¹ Roybal moved to suppress all evidence obtained as a result of his traffic stop, arguing that the stop was unsupported by a reasonable suspicion that he had committed a crime. However, the district court denied Roybal's motion to suppress, concluding that the stop was justified by the 911 dispatcher's reasonable suspicion that Roybal was driving under the influence of alcohol. The court did not specifically address whether Sergeant Ledford had an independent reasonable suspicion that Roybal was driving while intoxicated based on his own observations or a reasonable suspicion that Roybal had committed domestic violence. Following the court's ruling, Roybal entered a conditional guilty plea to one count of driving under the influence, a third degree felony, preserving his right to appeal. Roybal thereafter timely appealed to the court of appeals following sentencing.

¶ 10 A divided panel of the court of appeals reversed. State v. Roybal, 2008 UT App 286, ¶ 1, 191 P.3d 822. The court concluded that the stop was not justified by reasonable suspicion for four reasons. First, because of McCaine's personal relationship with Roybal and the lack of detail provided in her call, the court considered the information relayed in her 911 call less reliable. Id. ¶¶ 11-13. Second, the court found that the 911 dispatcher lacked reasonable suspicion that Roybal was driving while intoxicated because there was no information regarding “the quantity or type of alcohol he consumed [,] how long he had been drinking,” or Roybal's weight. Id. ¶¶ 14-15. Third, the court concluded that Sergeant Ledford's own observations were insufficient to support a reasonable suspicion because where Roybal had not actually violated any traffic laws, his conduct was not “suggestive of criminality.” Id. ¶ 16. Finally, the court noted that Sergeant Ledford lacked a reasonable suspicion of domestic violence because the call indicated merely a “nonphysical confrontation” insufficient to justify a stop. Id. ¶ 17 n. 6.

¶ 11 Judge Thorne dissented, concluding that based on the call, the 911 dispatcher did have a reasonable suspicion of DUI. Judge Thorne reasoned that McCaine's relationship to Roybal was insufficient to render her call unreliable, and that the details she provided, coupled with her apparently intoxicated state, were sufficient to create a reasonable suspicion of DUI. Id. ¶¶ 19-22 (Thorne, J., dissenting). According to Judge Thorne, Sergeant Ledford was therefore justified in making the stop.

¶ 12 Following issuance of the court of appeals' ruling, the State petitioned for certiorari review, which we granted. The Utah Domestic Violence Council, joined by the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault, submitted an amicus brief. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Utah Code section 78A-3-102(3)(a) (2008).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 13 “On certiorari, we review the decision of the court of appeals and not that of the district court.” State v. Alverez, 2006 UT 61, ¶ 8, 147 P.3d 425 (internal quotation marks omitted). Our review is for correctness, granting no deference to the court of appeals' application of law to the underlying factual findings. Id.

ANALYSIS

¶ 14 The sole issue before us is whether there was a reasonable, articulable suspicion sufficient to support Roybal's traffic stop. “The Fourth Amendment prohibits ‘unreasonable searches and seizures' by the Government, and its protections extend to brief investigatory stops of persons or vehicles that fall short of traditional arrest.” United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 273, 122 S.Ct. 744, 151 L.Ed.2d 740 (2002) (quoting U.S. Const. amend. IV). “However, it is settled law that ‘a police officer may detain and question an individual when the officer has reasonable, articulable suspicion that the person has been, is, or is about to be engaged in criminal activity.’ ” State...