judge shumate's finding of fact and conclusion of law

8/6/2019 Judge Shumate's Finding of Fact and Conclusion of Law

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STATE OF UTAH,

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/ r 1 J / JIJ:) 2 '9 P( ' i 2 : l 1 2 :- .IN THE FIFTH JUD IC IAL D ISTR IC rr COURT OF THE STATE O F : t r t A 1 i '-l,':.J,' j '(

WASHINGTON COUNTY , ~T, GEORGE DEPART~N !, ..

Plaintiff,vs.

W AR REN STEED JEFFS,Defendant .

FIN D IN GS OF FACT, CONCLUS IONSOF LAW, AND ORDER ON MOTIONTO SUPPRE SS

C ase N o. 061500526Judge James L . Shumate

O n June 13,2007, th e C o ur t to ok testim on y an d h ea rd a rgumen t r eg ar din g d efen da nt'sM o tio n to S up pr ess. D e fen da nt w a s p re se nt am r ep re se nte d by Richard A. Wright, Walter F.B ugden, Jr., and T ara L. Isa ac so n; th e Wa sh in g o n Co un ty A tto rn ey 's O ffic e w as re pre se nted byBrock R. Beln ap an d Ryan J , Shalllll. At t he h ea ri ng the Court made certain findings of fact ando rd er ed a dd itio na l a rg ument fr om . th e p ar tie s 01 1 aspects of N evada law . H aving fully consideredthe testim ony, the original m em oranda, and the supplem ental m aterial. the C ourt m akes thefollowing:

FINDING$ OF FACT .

1 . O n A ugust 28, 2006, at approxitnatel 9:0 0 p.m ., N evada H ighw ay P atrol T rooperEddie D utchover ("D utchover") w as on duty on the northbound lanes ofI-1 5 near A pex, N evada.D utchover is a m em ber of the C rim inal Interdiction U nit, trained to be on the alert for various--------- - -__~- ------~- ---~~- ---1---------------- - - ~-- ~- -N . . . "sig ns o f c rim in ality o n th e h ig hw ay s, p ar tic ular ly th e tr an sp or tatio n o f n ar co tics, an d w as


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patrolling what was considered a "high volume' traffic stop area.

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2. Dutchover observed a 2007 Cadillac scalade wi~ no permanent license plate and atemporary Colorado registration tag. The Escal e was not traveling above the posted speedlimit of75 miles per hour. Itwas then dark an Dutchover was unable to see the temporary tagclearly enough to determine if it was valid. Du chover turned on the lights of his marked

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Highway Patrol vehicle and stopped the Escala e at approximately 9:04 p.m.3. On approaching the stopped car, he as able to see that the temporary tag displayed

"9-14-06," meaning it did not expire until Sept mber 14,2006, but the numbers on the lower partof the permit were partially obscured by the lie use bracket and not readable except upon close

Iexamination. As shown in the photographs su ltted to the Court during the hearing, thetemporary tag had to be examined closely to tel what the printed numbers and letters were. They. .could 110t be discerned from a moving vehicle, ven when immediately following the Escalade.

4. Dutchover approached the vehicle, t ld the driver the reason for the stop was anobstructed temporary license, and asked the dri er for his operator's license, vehicle registration,and proof of insurance. The trooper noticed t driver's right hand was shaking as he producedthe required documents. Dutchover also noted radar detector and global positioning system,

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both of which items are legal to possess in Nev da, but which the trooper, from past experienceand training, has found are often employed indrugs. Additionally, he noted the vehicle's he ily tinted windows. Dutchover observed the twoother occupants of the Escalade, a man sitting i the row behind the driver and a woman in therow behind that, a seating arrangement that see

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H ildale, U tah, but the vehicle registration w as' the nam e of a com pany and one John W aym ent("W aym ent") of W est D es M oines, Iow a. D utc over found t his unusua l in lig ht of th e C oloradotempo rary reg istratio n, an d h e ask ed Isaac if he ould step out of the vehicle.

6. T rooper D utchover attem pted to radi the highw ay patrol dispatch to run the vehicleid en tificatio n n umber p ro vid ed , b ut w as inform d the sys tem serve r was not working. The C ADlo g reflects a messag e at ab ou t 9 : 1 6 p .m . c on fi ing the server w as dow n. T rooper Dutchover

ag ain and d id no t t he re af te r inquire if th e serve rid n ot attem pt to ru n the dr ive r' s license orwas wo rk ing. The troo per did testify th at in his xperience th e serv er p ro blem u su ally lasteda bo ut tw o h ou rs, In th is settin g the C ourt cann t m ake any fin din gs a s to w hen the server wasa ga in a va ila ble b ec au se T rooper Dutchover ne er m ad e inquiry after 9 : 16 . By 10:00 the focus ofth e tro op ers' in vestig atio n h ad turned to the id tity of Mr. Wa rren S teed J effs.

7. The trooper then spoke again w ith Is ' , asking him o ut o f earsh ot of the p assen gersabout Mr. Waym ent's ow nership of the car an the group's itinerary. Isaac stated that the grouphad gone to S an Francisco to see the ocean and had visited friends inModesto , C a lifo rn ia an d th eparty w as returning to H ildale, U tah. H e furth rexplained that Waym ent w as his em ployer andc urre ntly liv ed in L as V eg as. Wayment, Isaac aid, had lent the Escalade tothetravelers as af avo r bec ause it w as a room ier vehicle for su e trav el. T ro op er D utcho ver th oug ht th eexplanation strange, given that this m eant W a ent bad d eliv ere d th e car inH ild ale, U ta h an dw ould have had to then arrange transportation or the return trip to Las V eg as. T ro operD utchover did not know w here H ildale, U tah as located at the tim e of the "stop, a ndnone of hisconversations with the occupants of the Escal e enlightened him as to th e g eo grap hy in vo lv ed .(In fact, H ild ale, U tah is app ro xim ately 1 79

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IIImile marker 60 ofl-15 in Nevada. Depending nits l"1on in the Las Vegas area the W~ymenthom e could be well over 200 m iles from Hildal ,U tah. 100per D utchover was aware that S t.George, U tah is the closest Utah city to m ile ker 60 , 1 d that is still at least 1 17 m iles northand east of L as Vegas.) Trooper D utchover no Isaac's ack of eye contact, his unusual

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n erv ousn ess, an d his ap paren t ev asiv en ess in th e carefu lly an d .haltingly f as hioned h isresp on ses to T ro op er D u tch ov er's q uestio ns.

8. Trooper D utchover also spoke to the m ale pass nger, later identified as W arren SteedJeffs, the defendant, w ho w as still inside the E alade. T e female p asse ng er, la ter id en tifie d asN aom i Jeffs, listened to the conversation and eed w ith defendant's. responses. T he defendantstared straight ahead and rapidly ate a salad as e respond d to T rooper D utchover's q uestions.T he defendant's dem eanor and lack of eye con act seem e suspicious to the trooper, as did hisaccount of the group's plans and previous m ov m entsj c trary to I sa ac 's a ss er tio ns, d efe nd an tstated th at th e party w as on the way to D enver, C olorado nd had spent the' previous night at th eCou rty ar d Ma r rio t inLas Vegas. A t one point ~peared so visibly nervous thatDu tc hove r to ld him he (the defendant) was m e t rooper) nervous.

m oney in the vehicle and Isaac denied each ite in tum . Isaac gestured to th e v eh icle an d

10. D utchover had previously radioed or backu ~at about 9:22, a r i d a ear containing tw o

asked if Isaac w ould consent to andicated that Duteh ov er co uld "tak e a lo ok."

search of the vehicle and Isaac said he w ould, . g and noting the time on consentform at 9:30.

- -------------------------- ----------Highway Patrol officers arrived shortly there 'leers remained in their vehicle somei

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Idistance aw ay, until after the consent to search fthe E scalade had been given by Isaac Jeffs inwr it ing ..

11 . The passengers w ere asked to exit t e vehicle for the search. w hich commencedia lm ost immed ia te ly a fter I sa ac had executed the form . The search uncovered tools, a good deal

of luggage, a CB radio, a fairly large am ount of oney, w igs, a num ber of cell phones, and lettersto "WS J" or "the P resident." O ther religious w itin gs w er e a ls o u nc ov er ed ..

12. These circum stances led one of the roopers to s ,;!s pe ct t he y h ad s to pp ed Wa rr enSteed Jeffs, w ho at that time w as on the FBI's" en M ost W anted List." Acco rd in gly , mo repolice officers and agents of FB I w ere called an the troopers on the scene becam e m oreinterested in th e id en titie s o f th e passengers. D fendant refused to g iv e his. name a nd a ls o d en ie dw hen asked directly that his nam e w as W arren effs. The req uest ofM r. W arren Jeffs forid en tific atio n wa s made within the first 60 min tes of t h e tr af fic s top .

13. The stop continued w hile the troope ~ on the scene aw aited the arrival of otherH ighw ay Patrol officers and agents of the FB I. ough the tim eline is not precisely clear, itappears from the C AD log that D utchover's ser eant w as inprogress to the scene at 9:52;b ecause the F BI ag en ts had to come from Las gas, they could not have arrived until som e tim e

14. Eventually , FB I Special A gent H en icks asked defendant if he 'w as Warren Steeda fte r 1 0 :0 0 .

Jeffs, and defendant adm itted that he w as. A bo t 1 0:45. defendant was h an dc uffe d an dtransported in a police vehicle to the FB I office w here he w as interrogated into the earlym orning. The FB I im pounded the Escalade an

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iFrom the foregoing Findings of Fact the ourt now enters the follow ing:

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1. T he D efen se argu es th at the leg al ju s ificatio n fo r T roo per Dutchover's stop of the200 7 C adillac Escalade w as based upon a fau l in terp retation and ap plication o f th e relev antN evada statute. The pertinent portions of the N vada R evised Statues are as follow s:

,N ev. R ev. Stat. . 482,545 (2007)482.545. Certain unlawful acts.It is unlawful for any person to commit any of e follow ing acts:

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1.To operate, or for the ow ner thereof knowin ly to permit the operation of, upon a highw ay an ymotor v ehicle, trailer or sem itrailer w hich is no t egistered o r w hich do es no t hav e attached th eretoan d d is pla ye d th er eo n th e number o f p la te or lates assigned th ereto b y th e D e partm ent fo r th ecu rrent period of reg istration o r calend ar ~ear, s b ject to th e ex em ptio n allow ed in NRS 482 .3 16 to4 82 .3 17 5, in clu siv e, 4 82 .3 20 to 4 82 .3 63 ,:in clu s v e, 4 82 .3 85 ,to 4 82 .3 96 5, in clu siv e, a n d 482.420.

N ev. R ev. Stat,482.275. License plates: Display.4. E very license plate m ust at all tim es bejsecur y fastened to th e v eh ic le to whic h it is a ss ig ne d soas to prevent the plate from sw inging and at a height not less than 12 inches from the ground,me as ur in g fr om the bo ttom of such plate; in a p ace an d p ositio n to be c le ar ly v isib le , a nd mus t bemain ta in ed fr ee fr om fo re ig n materials and in a ondition to b e c le ar ly le gib le .

. 482275 (2007)

T he D efense arg ues th at th e N ev ada code on ly a lies to lic en se p la te s is su ed b y th e S ta te of'NevadaIand, since th e tempo ra ry r eg is tr atio n o n t he Esca ade is a p rod uct of th e S tate of C olo rado , a N ev ad a

tr oo pe r c an no t insist that the tem porary fag be 'clearly visible" and "In a condition to be clearly1leg ib le." T he D efen se has alleg ed th at th ~ identi . g n umbe r o f th is temp or ar y tag is d ea rly s howniin Exhibit #1 fr om th e h ea rin g as "431644D ." is C ourt has not found that fact. The C ourt hasl,,

found that the frame for the permanent ]licens plate obscured the num ber so that only a close1

cbservation.uct.possible during night tuheho S-in-a.-moin, fP'ehicle-at'75-miles--perllowc5~-'-, Ii

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!Idiscern the actual number and confirm that the number w a s not) for instance, "A316AAD." No

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authority has been supplied to th is Court for t Defense theory that a Nevada trooper can onlyinvestigate a Nevada registration. The more sen ible reading of th e statute a nd th e facts before thisCourt establish that where a temporary registrati n tag is.obscured, a.Nevada trooper has legal cause

!to stop the vehicle an d investigate th e registrati n regardless of th e origin of that registration.

2. Because the initial stop ha s been fo d to be valid, th e next concern of the Court is to!examine the duration of th e detention to dete ine if it was unreasonable. As counsel for bothparties have pointed out) such a determination ihighly fact-sensitive. Trooper Dutchover had theright to stop the Escalade to determine if it was roper ly regi st ered under the temporary tag. Oncethe stop was made the trooper could examine th tag on the r e a r of the Escalade and compare it tothe registration documents inside the vehicle. e trooper also had the right to examine the statusof the driver's license held by Mr. Isaac Jeffs, the driver. "Irooper Dutchover's efforts and theprocess he followed could have resulted in a v ry brief detention) were it not for the continuingdiscovery of questionable circumstances regar ing this ve~cle, the possession of this vehicle bythese parties, the explanation of the travel plans fthese parties, the behavior of these parties whilebeing questioned, the physical appearance ofth vehicle a n d its contents.

3. The fact that the computer system us by the Ne~ada Highway Patrol was inoperable atthe time of the stop is only one of the factors to b examined in this analysis, but it is not dispositive.Counsel for the State has supplied a Marylan case that holds that a non-functioning computer

, ,,::,system justifies an extension of the duration of traffic stop. However, the factual setting of thatdecision, Byndloss v. Stale) 893 A.2q 1119 (Md. 006) is distinguishable from the facts here because

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interven in g fact o f a canine resp on se to the su s ct vehicle too k th e officer ' satten tion into .an otherpath. N eith er sid e ha s supplied any N evada auth rity on this Issue, and this C ourt is unaw are of anyUtah a uth or ity th at might s up ply g uid an ce in is review . The Maryland case is helpful, hut ac ommon -se nse r ea ctio n to a perpe tua l computer failure could no t ext end a traffic stop indefinitely,and the factual distinctions between the rna er at band an d Byndloss a re sub st an tia l. Ac on stitu tio na l s ta nd ar d o f r ea so nable ne ss , th er e ore, mu st s till b e a pp lie d.

4 . There is a useful feature of N evada la that gives this Cciur t mean in gfu l a ss is ta nc e. Bo ththe State and the d efe nse h av e directed this C urt to a N e~ada Statute, N RS 171.123, and twoNe va da c as es, State v.McKellips, 49 P .3d 655 vada, 2002) and Barrios-Lomeli v. State, 961 P .2 d750 (N evada, 1997). The tw o cases cited are 0 y m arg in ally useful becau se o f th e great v arian cebetw een their facts and the facts here. H ow ever the statute is highly probative. It reads as fo ll ows:

N ev. R ev. Stat. . 171 .1 23 ( 2007)171.123. Temporary detention by peace offic r of person suspected of criminal behavior orof violating conditions of parole or probatio : Limitations.1.Any peace officer m ay d etain an y person w h m the o fficer encou nters un der circum stancesw hich reasonably indicate that the person has c mmitted, iscommitting or is about to comm it a crim e.2. Any p eace o fficer m ay d etain an y person the officer enco un ters u nd er circumstances w hichreaso nab ly ind icate th at th e perso n has violated o r is violating the con dition s of his paro le o r prob ation .3 . T he officer m ay detain the person pursuant t th is sectio n o nly to ascertain his identity an d thesu sp ic io us c ir cums ta nc es su rr ou nd in g h is p re se c e ab ro ad . Any p er so n so d eta in ed sh all id en tifyh im self, bu t m ay not b e compell ed to answ er y other inquiry of any peace officer.4. A person m ust not be detained longer than is reaso nab ly necessary to effect th e p urp oses ofth is s ec tio n) a nd inno event longer than 60 . utes. The detention m ust not extend beyond theplace or the immediate vicinity of the place w h re the detention w as first effected, unless thep er so n is a rr es te d.

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IThis sp ecific statu te h as b ee n u ph eld by , e U nited states Suprem e C ourt in the case ofHiibel v. Sixth Judicia l D istrict C ourt of N eva d. 1542 U .S , 1 77 (2 00 4). Amaz in gly , n eith er p ar tyto th is litig atio n c ite d th e Hiibel case to this C ou . U nder the statute and the L l.S. Supreme Court 'sreasoning inHiibel, Trooper D utchover had Ie a t justification in stopping the E scalade for the

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,licen ce tag v io la tio n. H e also h ad leg al ju stificat o n to ask th e id en tity o f th e d riv er, Mr. I saac Je ff s.The inconsistency of the stories betw een Isaac d W arren; and the odd behavior of W arren underqu estio ning, ju stifie d th e tr oope r's in quir y as to arren Jeffs' identity. W hen Trooper D utch over ,S

attem pt to ascertain W arren Jeffs' id en tity w as rebu ffed , th~d efen dan t w as su bjec t to immed iatearrest u nd er N e vad a law uph eld by the U nited S tes Suprem e C ourt. A t that point Mr. War ren Jef fs

: ,was in a state of de facto a rr est Und er circums ces approved by th e highest Cour t inthi s na tion .

T he Motio n to S upp ress is O verruledER

DATED this 21 day of June, 20 07.BY T IfE COURT:

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7~James L. Shumate ~Fifth q W t r i c t = g e

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CERTIFIGATE eFI hereby certify that on this J i . qcorrect copy of the foregoing RQLING toby placing a copy in such attonrey's p e iCourthouse inSt. George, Utah and/or bfirst-class postage prepaid, and: addr~sse. IBrock R. Belnap, Esq.Ryan J. Shaull, Esq.Washington County AttQrney I178 North 200 EastSt. George, Utah 84770 '

IWalter F. Bugden, Jr., EI3Q. IIITara L. Isaacson, Esq. IBUG DEN A ND ISA AC SO N, ~LG445 East 200 South, Suite 1 5 0 1Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 I

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LINGIDELIVERYyofQJJiJi ,2007, I provided a true andach o~rties!attorneys named belowthe Clerk's Office at the Fifth Districtplacing a copy in the United States Mail,as follows:

Richard A. Wright, Esq.WRIGHT, JUDD &W~R

~~!ink o(~_~nca_J>ll!~~L~. ~~ ~~....~~~.-.----- ..----~- ..-..--....------.- ....-~-..--~- ..300 South Fourth Street, Sui 70

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Las Vegas, Nevada 89101David C. Reymann, Esq.Jeffrey J. Hunt, Esq.PARR WADDOUPS BROWN GEE &La LESSAttorney for Media Intervenors185 South State Street, Suite 1300Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

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~ m d J U r : kDEPUTY CLERK OF COURT

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judge shumate's finding of fact and conclusion of law

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