Anonymous Tip Insufficient to Justify Traffic Stop

-


Can police stop a car when an anonymous caller to 911 says the driver of a particular vehicle was yelling at her kids and appeared to be intoxicated? The Michigan Supreme Court answered in the negative yesterday in People v Pagano.

The 911 caller, according to the officer's recollection of what dispatch said (the tape was not entered as evidence), said they were "concerned because she had ah children with her and she was yelling; appearing to be obnoxious; and appeared to be intoxicated um that was causing her behavior ah with the children.  And then had left is why the caller thought she was intoxicated."  The caller gave the license plate number, the make, model and color of the car and the direction the defendant was headed.

Thirty minutes later, a deputy found the car and followed the defendant, but did not make any independent observation of drunk driving or any civil infraction. The defendant was charged with OWI, Child Endangerment and Open Intox.  After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court dismissed the case.  The Huron County Circuit Court affirmed, but the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed, concluding that “the informant’s tip provided accurate details that were corroborated by the officer, making it sufficiently reliable, and also conveyed information related to contemporaneous and ongoing potential criminal activity."  

The Supreme Court unanimously reversed (Justice Welch did not participate.) Justice Bernstein's opinion took issue with the fact that the caller pointed to no objective fact from which to conclude that the driver was actually intoxicated.  Many people are obnoxious, though not drunk.  Many people who are not intoxicated yell at their kids.  The question came down to what weight to give an anonymous tip, and the Court looked to US Supreme Court precedent for assistance.  In Florida v J.L., the Court opined that an anonymous tip can provide reasonable suspicion, but only if the details of the tip are sufficiently corroborated to give credibility to the tipster.  However, identifying a person and place is not enough.  An anonymous tip must also demonstrate reliability in its assertion of criminality.  Here, the information on the record was only that the driver appeared to be intoxicated, and nothing more from which to conclude why the caller believed the person was intoxicated.

The most interesting part of the decision, in my opinion, is Justice Viviano's concurrence (joined by Justice McCormack), where he posits that the Supreme Court, should consider, in some future case, concluding that the Michigan Constitution provides more protection to individuals in cases where police rely on anonymous calls to justify stopping investigative action, like the case here.  He argued that Michigan is not bound by federal interpretations of the United States Constitution, even where the text of the two constitutions is identical.  Justice Viviano relied heavily on Justice Scalia's dissent in Navarette v California, and echoed his concern that the majority there had done nothing more than “served up a freedom-destroying cocktail . . . .” Especially in today's technologically advancing world, 911 callers have developed methods of disguising their caller ID numbers (known as spoofing) and then making false accusations so that police will investigate and disrupt the lives of innocent people. Justice Viviano's opinion is a great read.

Ms. Pagano was represented by Julienne Ferris of Bad Axe.  The People were represented on appeal by David J. Wallace of Harbor Beach, Michigan.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MSC Rules Duress Defense Applies to 2d Degree Murder Car Crash

-
Image
  Yesterday, in a 4-3 decision with a concurrence and two dissenting opinions, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that duress is an available defense to one form of 2d Degree Murder - willful and wanton disregard that the natural tendency of the act is to cause death or great bodily harm - often referred to as "depraved heart" murder. Justice Bridget McCormack , probably writing her final opinion as a member of the bench, was joined by Justices Bernstein, Cavanagh and Welch in the opinion in People v Gafken , Docket No.  161835 .  Theresa Gafken was convicted of second degree murder in the St. Clair County Circuit Court, MCL 750.317.  The evidence showed she drove her car, while running from the police, at speeds in excess of 100 MPH.   She ran a red light and collided with other vehicles, killing one person and severely injuring several others.  The prosecution's theory was that Gafken had intended to do an act that was in willful and wanton disregard of the likelihood of
Read more

Warrant Needed for a Barn Outside the Curtilage?

-
Image
Yesterday, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued its opinion in People v Brigitte Louise Rousse, Docket No. 358358 (May 5, 2022) , an opinion that held police, with an otherwise valid search warrant, lacked the authority to search the interior of a pole barn located outside the curtilage of the home. An animal control officer discovered a cow loose on the road near the Defendant's home.  Upon returning the cow to its pen, he observed numerous dead animals on the property in various states of decomposition.  He saw three dogs on the property that were emaciated. The Defendant had no explanation for how the animals died.  From one of the pole barns that could be observed from the road and the house, he heard the yipping of dogs.  The officer obtained a search warrant for the property.  However, in the description of the place to be searched, the officer listed only the description of the house, making no mention of the pole barns on the property.  A search of one of the pole barns rev
Read more

My Interview with Justice Maura Corrigan

-
Image
I noticed that the Court of Appeals has issued two published opinions this week dealing with criminal law, but before I post those to our blog, I wanted to alert everyone to a new feature we will be offering to our readers. Today, I am launching a new podcast called "Assistance of Counsel." By following the link here and to the right, you will be able to listen to an exclusive interview I recently had with Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan. Justice Corrigan was gracious enough to sit down with me and discuss various topics dealing with her career, her personal life, the day-to-day operations of the Michigan Supreme Court and the history of the court. Justice Corrigan has been on the Supreme Court since 1999, and the interview is very informative for anyone interested in the inner workings of the Court and Justice Corrigan in particular. Our new podcast offering will be an added feature linked to our blog and to our website, www.floodlaw.com. Soon, as well, our podcast
Read more