STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
MATTHEW MURPHY, APPELLEE
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The State appeals from an order suppressing evidence obtained from Matthew Murphy's vehicle. The court affirmed the suppression because the traffic stop was unlawful, initiated based on erroneous information from the Sheriff's Office computer database indicating an improper vehicle tag when the vehicle had in fact been properly registered with the DMV three weeks prior.
The court held that the evidence must be suppressed because the traffic stop was initiated without legal basis. The erroneous information from the Sheriff's Office computer database could not provide reasonable suspicion for the stop, and under the exclusionary rule, evidence obtained following an unlawful seizure must be suppressed. The suppression of such evidence encourages law enforcement to maintain accurate and current records.
[1] A traffic stop constitutes a seizure under the Fourth Amendment, even if brief.
[2] Evidence obtained as a result of an unlawful seizure must be suppressed under the exclusionary rule.
Previewing 2 of 5 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 exclusionary rule provides that "[w]hen an individual is unreasonably seized, any evidence obtained as a result of the seizure must be suppressed."”
Establishes the foundational principle that evidence from unlawful seizures must be excluded.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA deputy conducted a routine license tag check on Murphy's truck using the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office internal computer database because the…
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SILBERMAN, Judge.
The State appeals from an order granting Matthew Murphy’s motion to suppress. We affirm because the evidence was seized following an unlawful stop.
A deputy observed Murphy’s truck on the road and conducted a routine license tag check. The computer check indicated that the tag belonged to a different truck. On that basis, the deputy initiated a traffic stop. As the deputy approached the truck after making the stop, he smelled a strong odor of marijuana and saw marijuana seeds and leaves on Murphy. The deputy ordered Murphy from the truck and saw a partially exposed digital scale and remnants of marijuana leaves and seeds on the floor of the truck. The deputy arrested Murphy and searched the truck. The scale, four bags of marijuana, a glass pipe, and cash were seized.
The deputy acknowledged that the sole basis for the stop was the computer information indicating that the truck had an improper tag. Normally, tag information would be obtained from the computer system of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DMV); however, due to an unspecified problem, the DMV computer information was not available at the time that the deputy-made the tag check. The information on which the deputy relied came from the internal computer database of the Hills-borough County Sheriffs Office. It was later discovered that the report from the internal database was erroneous. Three weeks before the stop, Murphy had properly registered his truck with the DMV. The sheriffs office did not have the current registration information for Murphy’s truck in its computer system.
Stopping a vehicle and detaining its occupants constitutes a seizure, even if the detention is brief and the purpose of the stop is limited. Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 809, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996); Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 654, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979). The exclusionary rule provides that “[w]hen an individual is unreasonably seized, any evidence obtained as a result of the seizure must be suppressed.” Bowen v. State, 685 So. 2d 942, 944 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996). Moreover, when the information used by the police does not support a legal arrest, the evidence seized as a result of the arrest is to be suppressed. Bruno v. State, 704 So. 2d 134, 135 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997).
The exclusionary rule applies to evidence that is obtained following an illegal arrest when the arrest is initiated as a result of a police computer error. See State v. White, 660 So. 2d 664, 667-68 (Fla.1995). The supreme court reasoned that the suppression of such evidence would encourage law enforcement to maintain accurate and current records. Id. at 667; see also Shadler v. State, 761 So. 2d 279, 285 (Fla.2000).
Furthermore, absent “the reasonable suspicion necessary to authorize an investigatory stop, the initial detention was illegal and the resulting acquisition of the cocaine and drug paraphernalia was the fruit of an unconstitutional seizure.” Popple v. State, 626 So. 2d 185, 188 (Fla.1993). Under the circumstances, the erroneous information obtained by the deputy could not provide reasonable suspicion for the stop of Murphy and the seizure of the evidence. Had the sheriffs office records been updated and accurate, the stop and seizure of Murphy, the observations made by the deputy, and the subsequent search would not have occurred. We therefore conclude that the trial court properly granted the motion to suppress.
Affirmed.
PARKER, A.C.J., and NORTHCUTT, J., Concur.
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Eldridge v. State, 817 So. 2d 884 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)…clude that because Eldridge was “wrongfully subjected to an arrest or search predicated upon a mistake” made by the DMV, an arm of law enforcement, the marijuana found during the search must be excluded pursuant to Shadler. See also State v. Murphy, 793 So. 2d 112 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001); Bruno. The State asserts that even if the citation should have been completed before the canine unit arrived, the officer had a reasonable suspicion that illegal activity was afoot which justified the detention of Eldridge. Dete…
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Austin v. State, 965 So. 2d 853 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)…he ran from the officers. It is true that a stop based on the erroneous information concerning the license plate would have been unlawful. See Shadler v. State, 761 So. 2d 279 (Fla.2000); State v. White, 660 So. 2d 664 (Fla.1995); State v. Murphy, 793 So. 2d 112 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). But that point does not resolve this case. Austin’s claim for suppression of the cocaine can most readily be rejected on the ground that the cocaine was dropped by Austin before he was seized by the police. The cocaine was obtai…
Authorities Cited
- Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (U.S. 1979)
- Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (U.S. 1996)
- Tedd J. Popple v. State, 626 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 1993)
- State v. White, 660 So. 2d 664 (Fla. 1995)
- Bowen v. State, 685 So. 2d 942 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)
- Int'l Marine Co-Op, Ltd. v. Centro Nautico Representacoes Nauticas, 761 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 1999)
- Shadler v. State, 761 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 2000)
- Bruno v. State, 704 So. 2d 134 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)