STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
AMANDA ROSE LUCKAY, APPELLEE
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The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court's suppression order, holding that questioning a person about criminal conduct does not, as a matter of law, constitute a seizure requiring Miranda warnings. The court clarified that whether an encounter rises to the level of a seizure depends on the totality of circumstances, not merely the fact that incriminating questions were asked.
Questioning about criminal conduct alone does not constitute a seizure as a matter of law. Instead, courts must examine all the circumstances surrounding the encounter to determine whether a reasonable person would believe they were not free to terminate the encounter or refuse to answer questions.
[1] An officer may initiate contact with an individual and ask incriminating questions without creating a seizure.
[2] The determination of whether an encounter constitutes a seizure depends on all the circumstances, focusing on whether a reasonable person would believe they were not free…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“An officer may initiate contact with an individual without creating a search and seizure situation.”
Establishes that police-citizen contact is not inherently a seizure
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAn officer initiated contact with the defendant and questioned her about criminal conduct. The defendant made admissions and gave consent to search he…
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PER CURIAM.
The state appeals the trial court’s order suppressing admissions and contraband evidence. The trial court ruled that, as a matter of law, a person being questioned about criminal conduct would reasonably believe that he or she was in custody. Applying this reasoning to the instant facts, the trial court determined that admissions made by the defendant and the consent given by her to search her locker were illegally obtained as the result of an improper seizure. We reverse.
An officer may initiate contact with an individual without creating a search and seizure situation. Lightbourne v. State, 438 So. 2d 380 (Fla.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1051, 104 S.Ct. 1330, 79 L.Ed.2d 725 (1984). Furthermore, an officer may approach an individual and ask her incriminating questions. Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429, 111 S.Ct. 2382, 115 L.Ed.2d 389 (1991). It is the trial court’s responsibility in such cases to determine, based on all the circumstances surrounding the encounter, whether the officer’s conduct would have caused a reasonable person to believe she was not free to answer the officer’s questions or otherwise terminate the encounter. Id., 501 U.S. at 439, 111 S.Ct. at 2388-89. The inquiry should focus on whether the encounter carries with it specific circumstances which would indicate to a reasonable person that she was under restraint. Jones v. State, 658 So. 2d 178, 180 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). A “reasonable person” is one who is “neither guilty of criminal conduct and thus overly apprehensive nor insensitive to the seriousness of the circumstances.” State v. Alioto, 588 So. 2d 17, 18 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)(quoting United States v. Bengivenga, 845 F. 2d 593, 596 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 924, 109 S.Ct. 306, 102 L.Ed.2d 325 (1988).).
In deciding whether an encounter has become a seizure, the court may consider whether a law enforcement officer questioned the defendant about her criminal conduct. However, such questioning is just one of the circumstances to be considered and, by itself, does not constitute a seizure as a matter of law.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
GOSHORN, HARRIS and ANTOON, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Golphin v. State, 838 So. 2d 705 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)
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State v. Robinson, 740 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)…tion of Robinson, and the court’s failure to decide whether Robinson gave consent, constitute reversible error. We reverse the suppression order and remand for further proceedings in light of the standards set forth in this opinion. State v. Luckay, 697 So. 2d 221 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997) (reversing suppression order and remanding for further consideration, where trial court applied erroneous rule of law to facts); State v. Carr, 642 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (trial court’s dismissal of charges of dealing in st…
Authorities Cited
- Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429 (U.S. 1991)
- Lightbourne v. State, 438 So. 2d 380 (Fla. 1983)
- Griffin v. Texas, 465 U.S. 1051 (U.S. 1984)
- Kinnett Dairies, Inc. v. Dairymen, Inc., 465 U.S. 1051 (U.S. 1984)
- United States v. Bengivenga, 845 F.2d 593 (5th Cir. 1988)
- Lemeron v. Powers, 488 U.S. 924 (U.S. 1988)
- Bradshaw v. United States, 488 U.S. 924 (U.S. 1988)
- Garrett Jones v. State, 658 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
- State v. Alioto, 588 So. 2d 17 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)