MIKLOS RACZ, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court affirmed the conviction and denial of a motion to suppress, finding competent substantial evidence supported the trial court's findings on consent to search, while cautioning that police encounters involving identification requests may constitute detentions requiring careful scrutiny of voluntary consent claims.
A conviction and denial of a motion to suppress are affirmed where competent substantial evidence supports findings regarding consent to search and the nature of the police encounter.
[1] Police identification and request for identification during a citizen encounter may constitute a detention requiring scrutiny of whether any subsequent consent to search…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“claims of voluntary consent to search should be closely scrutinized and upheld only where established by clear and convincing evidence”
The court emphasized the evidentiary standard for voluntary consent despite affirming the conviction in this case.
Appellant Racz was encountered by police who identified themselves and requested identification, leading to a search that yielded contraband.…
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PER CURIAM.
We affirm appellant’s conviction and the trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion to suppress. We affirm because we believe there is competent substantial evidence in the record to support the trial court’s findings as to the issue of consent to search and as to the nature of the encounter between appellant and the police. Jordan v. State, 384 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980).
Notwithstanding our affirmance we would caution trial courts to look closely at claims by the police that no detention is involved when they encounter a citizen, identify themselves as police officers and ask for identification. In our view it is the rare citizen who would conclude that he has no legal obligation to cooperate with the police under those circumstances. Similarly, we agree that trial courts are obligated to uphold searches made pursuant to voluntary consent even when the person searched is claimed to have illogically acted completely contrary to his own interests in freely consenting to a search that immediately yields contraband. However, as the case law has repeatedly emphasized, claims of voluntary consent to search should be closely scrutinized and upheld only where established by clear and convincing evidence. Jordan v. State.
ANSTEAD, GLICKSTEIN and WALDEN, JJ., concur.
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Alvarez v. State, 515 So. 2d 286 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)…d at 864. Relevant, although not controlling, circumstances include a person’s awareness of the right to refuse consent and the reasonable likelihood of a person consenting to a search that the person knows will reveal contraband. See Racz v. State, 486 So. 2d 3 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). Absent any improper police conduct prior to securing an alleged consent, the consent issue should be determined by the greater weight of the evidence presented to the trial court. However, consent purportedly obtained after pri…
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Elsleger v. State, 503 So. 2d 1367 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)…nd convincing evidence. Appellant contends that the clear and convincing standard is applicable in the present case, citing Jordan v. State, 384 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); Leonard v. State, 431 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), and Racz v. State, 486 So. 2d 3 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). In Jordan, this court stated: A search is valid if consent thereto is freely and voluntarily given. Jackson v. State, 132 So. 2d 596 (Fla.1961). When the state relies upon consent to validate a warrantless search, the quality…
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Pastor v. State, 498 So. 2d 962 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)…pulled out of the station at this time, and Pastor would have been able to board it if the search had not uncovered narcotics. Although this court has stated that “claims of voluntary consent to search should be closely scrutinized,” Racz v. State, 486 So. 2d 3, 4 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986), it is well-established that a lawful search can be properly based on voluntary consent. The competing interests involved where po [*964] lice officers request permission to search were clearly delineated in Schneckloth v. Bus…
Authorities Cited
- Jordan v. State, 384 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)
- Corinne Hartman v. Hartman, 384 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)