Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
09-300
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Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
TIM RIGGINS,
Defendant-Appellant.
____________________
BRIEF OF APPELLEE
____________________
(555) 555-1234
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TABLE OF CONTENTS..2
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES.3
QUESTION PRESENTED....5
STANDARD OF REVIEW...5
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT.6
ARGUMENT.8
A. The only circuit that uses this test is the Sixth Circuit,
and the Reasoning of the Test is Implicitly in Conflict
With Supreme Court Precedent..14
B. The defendant and his wife lacked common authority over the
vehicle. 17
CONCLUSION..20
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
On July third, 2007, the DefendantTim Riggins (Riggins)was seen by police speeding
away from a possible drug den. (R. at 14-20). The arresting officerOfficer Womack
(Womack)was able to catch up to Riggins and pulled him over for speeding. (R. at 14-20).
The car in which Riggins was speeding was a rental; Riggins gave Womack his driver license,
auto registration, and rental agreement. (R. at 14-20). However, Riggins was not authorized to
drive the vehicle, as made clear by the rental agreement only listing Lyla Garrity Riggins,
(Lyla) his wife. (R. at 14-21). Since Riggins was plainly not authorized to drive the vehicle,
Womack asked Riggins if he could search the vehicle. (R. at 14-21). Claiming to be in a hurry,
Following Riggins refusal, Womack asked Riggins to exit the car and then used a drug-
sniffing dog to smell the exterior of the vehicle. (R. at 14-21). The dog alerted Womack to the
passenger side of the vehicle, where Womack discovered an unlocked glove compartment. (R. at
14-21). Within the unlocked glove compartment, Womack discovered 500 grams of cocaine
wrapped in a bag, in addition to chemicals that are often used in making crystal
methamphetamine. (R. at 14-21). Beyond the drugs and drug-manufacture materials, the car also
contained a few of personal items, such as mens clothing and an iPod. (R. at 14-21). Only after
discovering the drugs and drug manufacturing paraphernalia did Womack place Riggins under
arrest. (R. at 14-21). Although Lyla and Riggins intimate that Riggins had Lylas permission to
drive the carand that the car was rented on a joint credit card held between Lyla and primarily
by Rigginsthe rental agreement only listed Lyla as an authorized driver. (R. 14-21).
B. Procedural History
On August 1, 2007, Defendant Riggins sought relief from the United States District Court
for the District of Dillon, alleging that the police search of the rental vehicle violated his
Fourth Amendment right to freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. (R. at 14-7).
Riggins argued, therefore, that suppression of the 500 grams of cocaine and the drug
manufacturing paraphernalia was required. (R. at 14-7). On August 16, 2007, the prosecution
filed an opposition to Riggins motion, arguing that Riggins lacks standing to challenge the
search. (R. at 14-15). On September 12, 2007, the District Court agreed with the prosecution
and denied Riggins motion. (R. at 14-20). That same day, Riggins filed a Notice of Appeal
with the District Court, indicating that he was appealing the denial of his motion to the United
States Court of Appeals for the Fifteenth Circuit. (R. at 14-24). On September 23, 2007, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifteenth Circuit granted Riggins application for
Question Presented
1. Whether a person who lacks any form of authorization to drive a rental vehicle
from the rental car company may, solely on the basis of the authorized drivers
permission to drive the vehicle, have standing to challenge a police search of the
vehicle under the Fourth Amendment?
Standard of Review
This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Dillon. The
district court denied Defendants motion to suppress evidence seized during a search of a
rental vehicle, based upon lack of standing. A district courts determination regarding a
defendants standing to challenge a search & seizure is reviewed de novo. United States
v. Gonzalez, Inc., 412 F.3d 1102, 1116 (9th Cir. 2005); United States v. Silva, 247 F.3d
1051, 1054 (9th Cir. 2001); United States v. Sarkisian, 197 F.3d 966, 986 (9th Cir. 1999);
Summary of Argument
expectation of privacy in the searched area. Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 143 (1978).
Rakas was directly based upon prior Supreme Court precedent, which emphasized that in
order to enjoy Fourth Amendment protection, not only must the person have a subjective
expectation of privacy, but this expectation must in all cases be reasonable. Katz v.
The great weight of federal authority leads to the conclusion that Defendants
alleged expectation of privacy is unreasonable. The Fourth Circuit has plainly held that
vehicle, and therefore no standing to challenge a search therein. United States v. Wellons,
32 F.3d 117 (4th Cir. 1994). Wellons correctly interprets Katz and Rakas in requiring that
an individual may only assert standing in the limited situation of when he has asserted
ownership or lawful possession of the vehicle. This interpretation has been well received
in the Fifth and Tenth Circuits as well. See generally United States v. Boruff, 909 F.2d
111(5th Cir. 1990); United States v. Obregon, 748 F.2d 1371 (10th Cir. 1984). This is an
easily-administered, bright line rule that unauthorized drivers of rental vehicles never
still rest upon a concept of legitimate permission to operate the vehicle as forming a basis
for standing. For example, the Ninth Circuit has adopted a novel common authority
test. This test operates such that an unauthorized driver of a rental vehicle gains standing
to challenge a search simply provided that he used the property interdependently with the
authorized renter and had joint control over the property. United States v. Thomas, 447
F.3d 1191 (9th Cir. 2006). Although the Ninth Circuit held that an unauthorized driver
gains standing if they had permission from the legitimate renter, their common
authority reasoning has not been adopted by a single Circuit outside of their own.
foundation, the Ninth Circuits concern with a drivers legitimate permission to operate
the vehicle adds validation to the bright line rule of the fourth, fifth, and tenth Circuits.
The Eight Circuit also requires legitimate permission to operate the vehicle as a
prerequisite for standing to challenge a search. United States v. Best, 135 F.3d 1223 (8th
Cir. 1998); United States v. Muhammad, 58 F.3d 353 (8th Cir. 1995). Even though the
Eight Circuit shares the Ninth Circuits view that unauthorized drivers gain standing with
permission from the authorized driver, the Eighth Circuit deviates from the Ninth by not
adopting the common authority test. At best, the Eighth and Ninth Circuits have
failing to apply the bright line rule of the Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth Circuits.
Defendant here had no permission to drive the vehicle from its legitimate owner,
the rental company. He also had no relationship with the company, having not even
rented the car himself. Constitutional protections do not and cannot be the fruit of
unlawfully allowing an individual to use anothers property. The District Courts ruling
should be affirmed.
Argument
Individuals who transport drugs in rental vehicles that they have no authorization
assert Fourth Amendment rights, the Supreme Court has narrowly limited the class of
individuals who have standing to make such challenges; only those who possess a
legitimate expectation of privacy enjoy such a constitutional right. Rakas v. Illinois, 439
The growing trend among several circuit courts has been the adoption of a bright
line rule regarding unauthorized drivers of rental vehicles. This rule states that
unauthorized drivers are never in legal possession of the vehicle, and therefore any
expectation of privacy on their part is not legitimate. See generally United States v.
Wellons, 32 F.3d 117 (4th Cir. 1994); United States v. Boruff, 909 F.2d 111 (5th Cir.
1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 975, 111 S.Ct. 1620, 113 L.Ed.2d 718 (1991); United States
The Wellons court correctly applied this rule to a case with facts virtually identical
to the instant case. In Wellons, appellant Sherman Wellons and two othersLawrence
Atlanta, Georgia. Wellons, 32 F.3d 117 at 118. Dixon was the sole driver authorized on
the rental agreement. Id. The next day, Wellons drove the vehicle back to Pittsburgh
alone, despite not being listed as an authorized driver. On the drive back, Wellons was
pulled over by a West Virginia police officer for speeding; at such time Wellons
produced his driver license and the vehicle registration. Upon learning that Wellons was
not the authorized driver of the vehicle, the officer asked if he could search the vehicle.
Wellons declined, stating that he was in a hurry. Following this, the officer utilized a
drug-sniffing dog to smell the outside of the vehicle, and the dog indicated the presence
of narcotics. Id. at 119. After the dog had alerted the officer to the presence of
narcotics, the officer searched the vehicle. As a result of the search, the officer found
distribute cocaine and heroin, among other charges. Wellons attempted to suppress
the narcotics that were found in the rental car, making a Fourth Amendment challenge
to the search of the vehicle. The district court rejected this argument, and the Wellons
court affirmed. The court firmly grounded its reasoning in Rakas, declaring that [o]nly
expectation of privacy will the search violate that individuals Fourth Amendment
rights. Wellons, 32 F.3d 117 at 119. To that end, the circuit court agreed with the
district court that Wellons, as an unauthorized driver of the rented car, had no
The reasoning in Wellons mirrors that of multiple distinct circuits. The Fifth
Circuit has followed the exact rule used in Wellons, also as applied to drug dealers
driving rental cars without authorization. Boruff, 909 F.2d 111. In Boruff, the
furtherance of that conspiracy, he was driving a rental car that was in one of his co-
conspirators name. Furthermore, his co-conspirator was operating a truck that was
also not in Boruffs name. Id. at 113. Both were ultimately pulled over by police, who
discovered over five-hundred pounds of marijuana in the truck, along with thousands of
dollars in cash and radio equipment in the rental vehicle. Id. at 114.
After being placed under arrest, Boruff attempted to suppress the contents of the
search of both the truck and the rental vehicle, on the basis of the Fourth Amendment.
The circuit court found that the defendants Fourth Amendment rights are violated
only when the challenged conduct invaded his legitimate expectation of privacy rather
than that of a third party. Id. at 115 (citing United States v. Payner, 447 U.S. 727, 731,
100 S.Ct. 2439, 2443, 65 L.Ed.2d 468 (1980)). In so doing, the Boruff court emphasized
the requirement that the fourth amendment does not protect merely subjective
recognize as reasonable. Boruff, 909 F.2d 111 at 115 (citing Katz, 389 U.S. 347).
expectation of privacy because he was in sole possession of the car at the time of the
stop. This argument was flatly rejected. Id. at 117. The court reasoned that Boruffs
girlfriendthe actual renter of the vehicledid not have authority to give control of the
car to Boruff, as he was not listed on the rental agreement. Boruff, therefore, had no
legitimate expectation of privacy in the rental car. Id. Since Boruff lacked such an
the Tenth Circuit has also correctly adopted the bright line rule in light of Katz and
designed to check for driver license and car registrations. Id. at 1373. Obregon was not
listed as an authorized driver on the rental agreement, and was thus unable to produce
any such documentation showing that he was an authorized driver of the vehicle. Id.
multiple bags of cocaine, in addition to some clothing and personal items. Id.
Like the defendant in the instant case, Obregon argued that he had a legitimate
expectation of privacy within the rental vehicle. He based this argument solely on the
fact that he was driving the vehicle and at the time of the stop and maintained some
personal possessions within the car. Id. at 1374. Obregon largely based this argument
argument, stating:
Defendant had the keys to the car and may have had permission from the renter
of the car to use it, but this is not determinative of the standing inquiry in this
case. Defendant was driving a rented vehicle and was not named on the rental
agreement or any other documents, either as the renter or as an authorized
driver. Defendant made no showing that any arrangement had been made with
the rental car company that would have allowed him to drive the car legitimately.
Indeedan unrelated third party arranged the rental of the car. Defendant's
relationship to the rented car is too attenuated to support a claim of standing.
Obregon at 1374.
The Obregon circuit court agreed with this statement, as it was in harmony with
the circuits law on the subject. See generally United States v. Erickson, 732 F.2d 788
(10th Cir. 1984). Thus, Obregon lacked a legitimate expectation of privacy within the
The cases that the Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth circuit has encountered with respect
to this matter have been remarkably similar to the instant case. In the case at bar, the
rental company. (R. at 14-21). Like the defendants in the previously discussed cases,
Riggins was using this car for purposes of narcotics trafficking. (R. at 14-21).
The common thread running through Wellons, Boruff, and Obregon has been a
dispositive inquiry into a legitimate possessory interest in the vehicle. Each defendant
lacked such an interest, and therefore lacked a legitimate expectation of privacy in the
vehicle. Application of this rule to the defendants case clearly shows a lack of such an
interest, virtually identical in facts and circumstances to the cases discussed. Each of the
defendants arguments have been categorically rejected by these circuits: (1) possession
of items in the car confers standingrejected. Obregon, 748 F.2d 1371 at 1374. (2)
117. (3) Relationship with rental company was sufficient to confer standing, even
without ever having picked up the car or contacted the companyrejected. See
A. The only circuit that uses this test is the Sixth Circuit, and the
Reasoning of the Test is Implicitly in Conflict With Supreme Court
Precedent.
United States v. Smith, 263 F.3d 571 (6th Cir. 2001). In this test, the court will look to a
variety of factors in making its determination, including: whether the operator of the
vehicle had a driver license, the identity of the authorized renter, whether the operator
of the vehicle was able to produce the rental agreement, and the business relationship
between the operator of the vehicle and the rental company. Id. at 586. No other
circuit has adopted this test; in fact, this type of reasoning is implicitly rejected by the
Supreme Court. Specifically, although the Court has stated that no single factor will
invariably be determinative, Rakas, 439 U.S. at 152, the very analysis in Rakas made the
dispositive issue a legitimate possessory interest in the vehicle. Thus, under Katz, a
totality of the circumstances approach is inappropriate, given the dispositive nature of
The Sixth Circuit has stated that as a general rule, an unauthorized driver of a
rental vehicle does not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the vehicle, and
therefore does not have standing to contest the legality of a search of the vehicle.
Smith, 263 F.3d 571 at 586. The Smith court only authorized a deviation from this
general rule on the basis of the truly unique facts of the case. Of these unique facts,
the court emphasized the personal relationship between Smith and the rental company.
Specifically, Smith had not only personally called the rental company to rent the vehicle,
he was also directly given the reservation number and personally gave the company his
credit card number. Id. at 586-587. The court noted that this made Smith the de facto
No such circumstances exist in the case at bar. The defendant had never
contacted the rental company, did not receive any sort of reservation number, did not
pick up the car himself, and his wife provided the credit card number. In fact, the only
attenuated tie that the defendant can even attempt to muster is that he happened to
be a joint cardholder with his wife on the card that she used to rent the car. These facts
dramatically differ from those in Smith, and clearly do not warrant a deviation from the
general rule that unauthorized drivers of rental vehicles lack standing. These facts are
hardly unique, much less truly unique within the meaning of Smith to warrant such a
concepts of real or personal property law or to understandings that are recognized and
permitted by society. U.S. v. Thomas, 447 F.3d 1191, 1197 (9th Cir. 2006) (citing
Minnesota v. Carter, 525 U.S. 83, 88, 119 S.Ct. 469, 142 L.Ed.2d 373 (1998)). The Ninth
Circuit has drastically expanded this statement by redefining understandings that are
recognized and permitted by society to include any drug dealer who shares joint
control or common authority in a rental vehicle that they may use in furtherance of
criminal activity. Id. at 1198. No other circuit has adopted such a radical deviation from
The Ninth Circuit has further defined common authority to be based upon
mutual use of the property by persons generally having joint access or control for most
purposes. Id. (citing Illinois v. Rodriguez, 497 U.S. 177, 181, 110 S.Ct. 2793, 111
L.Ed.2d 148 (1990)). The facts of the instant case do not rise to this definition. Mrs.
Rigginsthe defendants wifeis a stay-at-home mother, and does not work. (R. at 14-
5). Thus, she does not operate the vehicle for purposes of driving to-or-from work.
Furthermore, her affidavit makes no indication that she supported, much less was even
aware, of the defendants drug dealing activities with the car. This leads to the
inference that she did not exercise control over the vehicle nearly to the extent that the
defendant did. Finally, her own affidavit has stated that the defendant used the car
more than she did. (R. at 14-6). Thus, taken as a whole, the defendant and his wife lack
the common authority over the vehicle for most purposes, as required by the Ninth
Circuit to possess standing. This relationship respecting the rental car is in stark contrast
to the type of relationship the defendant had in Smith. The Smith court did not find
standing due to Smiths failure to show he had permission from his co-conspirator,
McGuffey. Even if such permission had been shown, the relationship between the
Smith conspirators is far too dissimilar from the spousal relationship between the
defendant and his wife in the instant case. In Smith, the defendant and his co-
facts are present in the record of the instant case; the defendants wife here is simply a
stay-at-home wife, not an elaborate drug dealer. Thus, the defendant, even under the
The Eight Circuit has an even more limited test than the Ninth regarding standing
to challenge a search. U.S. v. Muhammad, 58 F.3d 353 (8th Cir. 1995). In Muhammad,
and ultimately was unable to produce documentation proving that he had permission to
drive the vehicle. The Muhammad court concluded that the defendant did not have
standing based upon this lack of production, and held that the defendant must present
at least some evidence of consent or permission from the lawful owner/renter to give
rise to an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy. Id. at 354 (citing United States
Despite this holding, the Muhammad court emphasized First Circuit precedent
that indicated a requirement of a more intimate relationship with the cars owner or a
history of regular use of the [car]. Muhammad, 58 F.3d 353 at 354 (citing United States
v. Sanchez, 943 F.2d 110, 114 (1st Cir. 1991)). In this instant case, the defendant had no
relationship whatsoever with the owner of the carthe rental companyand his
history of use of the car is sporadic and brief, as it was merely a rental car for temporary
Conclusion
The defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the rental car, since
he lacked a legitimate possessory or ownership interest in the vehicle. The vast majority
protections do not and cannot be the fruit of unlawfully allowing an individual to use
Respectfully Submitted,
__________________________________
Stephen A. Wagner