STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
MICHAEL TIMOTHY MORGAN, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The State appeals the suppression of evidence obtained from searches of Morgan's home conducted on November 3 and 5, 1981. The court affirms the suppression order, finding that both consents to search were invalid because they were tainted by coercive police conduct and the State failed to demonstrate a clear break in the chain of illegality.
Both consents were invalid and the evidence was properly suppressed. The November 3 consent was coerced by the officers' threats and tactics employed after Morgan repeatedly refused consent. The November 5 consent was also invalid because the State failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence an unequivocal break in the chain of illegality; the passage of 48 hours, Morgan's literacy, an opportunity to discuss the matter with his parents, and warnings of rights were insufficient to dissipate the taint of the illegal November 3 encounter, particularly given the intimidating presence of multiple officers on November 5.
[1] A consent to search is invalid if it is coerced by threats of obtaining a search warrant and involving a probation officer.
[2] A second consent to search, obtained after an initial coerced consent, may be invalid if the taint of the prior illegal action has not been dissipated by a clear and conv…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The consent obtained on November 3, 1981, was invalid because it was coerced by the procedure employed by the officers at the sheriff's department after Morgan had repeatedly refused consent to search his home.”
Establishes that the first consent was invalid due to coercive police conduct following repeated refusals.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOfficers went to Morgan's home on November 3, 1981, following a burglary. Morgan, a 20-year-old felony probationer, refused consent to search but agre…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Dissipation Of Taint cases and more on FLexlaw
JOANOS, Judge.
The State appeals an order granting Morgan’s motion to suppress evidence. We affirm.
Briefly, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the successful movant, this is what occurred. A particular residence was burglarized on November 3,1981. Later on November 3, 1981, Officers Du-bose and Ingram went to Morgan’s home, a house trailer, and requested permission to search the premises. Morgan refused to consent to the search, but agreed to accompany the officers to the sheriff’s department and discuss the case. Officer Ingram did not accompany Dubose and Morgan to the department. Morgan was interviewed there by Officers Dubose and Turner. Morgan, a 20 year old felony probationer, denied involvement in the burglary and continued to refuse consent to search his home.
Morgan’s version of what occurred next, which was accepted by the trial court, was that Officer Dubose told him they were going to search the trailer that night, they could obtain a search warrant, and would get the judge out of bed that night in order to do so if he did not consent to the search, or they would call his probation officer who did not have to have a warrant in order to search. (It appears there may not have been probable cause to support a search warrant.) Officer Dubose placed a call to Morgan’s probation officer, placed Morgan on the phone, and immediately following the conversation Morgan signed a consent to search form. Morgan said at that point he felt he had no other choice. A search of Morgan’s home that night revealed no incriminating evidence.
On November 5, 1981, Officers Turner and Ingram, accompanied by Officer Bas-tak, returned to Morgan’s home. Additional officers were also present, but remained outside the trailer. The officers again advised Morgan of his rights and asked him for permission to search, and he signed another consent to search form. Morgan said he signed because he did not want to go through the events of November 3 again. This time evidence was found and seized and Morgan was arrested and confessed to the burglary.
In the order suppressing the evidence, the trial judge stated he was “unable to conclude that there is clear and convincing proof of an unequivocal break in the chain of illegality sufficient to dissipate the taint of the initial actions of the deputies. It appears to me from the facts as presented, that the evidence seized came about by exploitation of the illegality.” The evidence was sufficient for the trial judge to reach that conclusion.
The consent obtained on November 3, 1981, was invalid because it was coerced by the procedure employed by the officers at the sheriff’s department after Morgan had repeatedly refused consent to search his home. See Denehy v. State, 400 So. 2d 1216 (Fla.1980); Seuss v. State, 370 So. 2d 1203 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979); Gonterman v. State, 358 So. 2d 595; Powell v. State, 332 So. 2d 105 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); Sarga v. State, 322 So. 2d 592 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975). The consent obtained on November 5,1981, was also invalid. The State contends that the passage of 48 hours, Morgan’s literacy, his opportunity to discuss the previous search with his parents1 and the warning of his rights prior to the second consent dissipated the taint of the encounter of November 3. Considering the evidence presented as to the events of November 3, plus the presence of a number of additional officers outside the trailer on November 5, the trial judge could conclude that the factors relied upon by the State did not constitute “clear and convincing proof of an unequivocal break in the chain of illegality sufficient to dissipate the taint of prior official illegal action.” Norman v. State, 379 So. 2d 643, 647 (Fla.1980).
AFFIRMED.
SHAW and WIGGINTON, JJ., concur. . Morgan testified he told his parents about the questioning and search of November 3, and they did not give him any advice.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
State v. Rogers, 427 So. 2d 286 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)…Perez-Esparza, 609 F. 2d 1284 (9th Cir.1980). Indeed the defendant’s second inculpatory statement, which was suppressed, was made the following day in Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 99 S.Ct. 2248, 60 L.Ed.2d 824 (1979). See also State v. Morgan, 423 So. 2d 478 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). “[A]n illegal arrest or an illegal search presumptively taints and renders involuntary any subsequent confession or admission obtained from the victim of the arrest or search. The only exception ... is where there has been a cle…
-
Sloan v. State, 429 So. 2d 354 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)…of the trial court is presumed correct, and upon consideration of the evidence, in its entirety, we cannot say that the court erred in finding a free and voluntary consent. See, Ferguson v. State, 417 So. 2d 631 (Fla.1982); compare State v. Morgan, 423 So. 2d 478 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982) (opinion filed December 10,1982), and cases therein cited. However, the consent issue, in our opinion, is not dispositive of the admissibility of appellant’s later confession given while he was lawfully in custody under the capia…
Authorities Cited
- Norman v. State, 379 So. 2d 643 (Fla. 1980)
- Denehy v. State, 400 So. 2d 1216 (Fla. 1980)
- Powell v. State, 332 So. 2d 105 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)
- Sarga v. State, 322 So. 2d 592 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975)
- Gonterman v. State, 358 So. 2d 595 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978)
- Seuss v. State, 370 So. 2d 1203 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979)