People v. Superior Court (Valdez)

In this proceeding, the People seek a writ of mandate to compel the trial court to vacate a pretrial order suppressing several items discovered by the police in a warrantless search of an automobile trunk. Although the trial court determined that the police had probable cause to search the car trunk in question, the court apparently concluded that the search was improper because in its view the prosecution had not adequately demonstrated the existence of sufficient “exigent circumstances” to justify the search.

As we shall explain, we have concluded that the on-the-scene warrantless search of the automobile trunk in this case was permissible under the traditional, well established contours of the “automobile exception” to the general warrant requirement. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court erred in suppressing the evidence found in the trunk and we issue the requested writ.

1. The Facts

At approximately 10 a.m. on January 24, 1979, Richard Stevens went to the premises of an old abandoned house near the intersection of Franklin and Mack Roads in Sacramento County to gather firewood. Stevens testified that he had obtained firewood from the premises on several…

I reach the same result as the majority, but by a somewhat different route: I would find that there were exigent circumstances on these facts.

While the defendant and another suspect were briefly “detained”—in the words of the majority—during the search of the car, they were not under *17 arrest. Nor could they be, because at that time the police had no valid basis to arrest them on any specific charges.

If, as proposed by the dissent, the police had been required to secure the vehicle while an officer obtained a warrant or to tow the vehicle to a garage for that purpose, they would have had no probable cause to further detain the suspects during the longer period necessary to accomplish either alternative. (See, e.g., People v. McGaughran (1979) 25 Cal.3d 577, 586-587 [ 159 Cal.Rptr. 191 , 601 P.2d 207 ].) Thus, by the time the vehicle was ultimately searched and the stolen articles found, the suspects would have been long gone.

Under these facts, an exigency existed that justified the search on the scene. For that reason I concur in the majority conclusion.

I respectfully dissent. I do not believe that this state’s Constitution permits warrantless automobile searches in the total absence of exigent circumstances.

I.

No decision of this court has ever squarely confronted the question of whether article I, section 13 of the California Constitution provides greater protection against warrantless automobile searches than does the federal Constitution.

Over the years, this court has recognized and strongly emphasized the importance of the warrant requirement in the automobile search context. For example, in People v. Dalton (1979) 24 Cal.3d 850 [ 157 Cal.Rptr. 497 , 598 P.2d 467 ], which invalidated a warrantless search of closed boxes found in the trunk of a lawfully stopped vehicle, this court stated: “The warrant requirement is not an empty formality. It is the cornerstone of the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee of the right to privacy. The assurance that a deter *18 mination of probable cause will be made by a neutral and detached magistrate, rather than an officer under stress in the field is not a minor guarantee. [Citation.] The authority of the executing officer and his need to search are carefully reviewed. [Citation.] Limits…

Kenneth M. Wells, Public Defender, Caroline R. Lange and Everett J. Avila, Assistant Public Defenders, for Real Party in Interest.

Quin Denvir, State Public Defender, Steffan Imhoff, Deputy State Public Defender, Marshall W. Krause, Krause, Timan, Baskin, Shell & Grant, Ephriam Margolin, Amitai Schwartz, Margaret C. Crosby and Alan L. Schlosser as Amici Curiae on behalf of Real Party in Interest.

OPINION

RICHARDSON, J.

In this proceeding, the People seek a writ of mandate to compel the trial court to vacate a pretrial order suppressing several items discovered by the police in a warrantless search of an automobile trunk. Although the trial court determined that the police had probable cause to search the car trunk in question, the court apparently concluded that the search was improper because in its view the prosecution had not adequately demonstrated the existence of sufficient "exigent circumstances" to justify the search.

As we shall explain, we have concluded that the on-the-scene warrantless search of the automobile trunk in this case was permissible under the traditional, well established contours of the "automobile exception" to the general warrant requirement.…