THE STATE OF TEXAS v. CLINT SAENZ--Appeal from 28th District Court of Nueces County (Dissenting)

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State: Texas

Court: Texas Northern District Court

Docket No: 13-11-00328-CR

Case Date: 12/28/2012

Plaintiff: THE STATE OF TEXAS

Defendant: CLINT SAENZ--Appeal from 28th District Court of Nueces County (Dissenting)

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NUMBER 13-11-00328-CR

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG


THE STATE OF TEXAS,       Appellant,

v.

CLINT SAENZ,         Appellee.


On appeal from the 28th District Court
of Nueces County, Texas.


DISSENTING MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Garza and Vela
Dissenting Memorandum Opinion by Justice Rose Vela

The State appeals from a trial court order suppressing the oral statements of the defendant, Clint Saenz, after he was indicted for third-offense driving while intoxicated.  I would reverse and remand to the trial court.
I would hold that the record conclusively established both that Officer Bintliff had reasonable suspicion to detain Saenz at the time he originally stopped Saenz and that Saenz had not been arrested or placed in custody before he made the oral statements to Officer Sanders.
A.  Reasonable Suspicion
An officer has reasonable suspicion to detain a person if he has specific articulable facts that, combined with rational inferences from those facts, would lead the officer to conclude that the person detained is, has been, or soon will be, engaged in criminal activity.  Derichweiler v. State, 348 S.W.3d 906, 914 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011).  In determining whether an individual was in custody, a court must examine all of the circumstances surrounding the interrogation, but the ultimate inquiry is simply whether there [was] a formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement of the degree associated with a formal arrest."  See Stansbury v. California, 511 U.S. 318, 322 (1994) (internal quotes omitted); Dowthitt v. State, 931 S.W.2d 244, 254 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996) ("A person is in custody only if, under the circumstances, a reasonable person would believe that his freedom of movement was restrained to the degree associated with a formal arrest.").  An "officer's views concerning the nature of an interrogation, or beliefs concerning the potential culpability of the individual being questioned, may be one among many factors that bear upon the assessment whether that individual was in custody, but only if the officer's views or beliefs were somehow manifested to the individual under interrogation and would have affected how a reasonable person in that position would perceive his or her freedom to leave."  See Stansbury, 511 U.S. at 325.
The record shows that Officer Bintliff was dispatched to the Whataburger just after 2:00 a.m. because of a fight.  The tip the officer received regarding the individuals involved in the fight matched Saenz's and his passenger's descriptions at the scene.  Additionally, it appeared to the officer that Saenz was in the process of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.  Officer Bintliff noted that the back-up lights were on, the vehicle Saenz was occupying was improperly parked in two spaces, including a handicapped parking spot, and Saenz had a confused and dazed look.  All of these factors could lead to reasonable suspicion to stop Saenz for one or more offense, including DWI.
B.  Miranda Warnings
When a defendant seeks to suppress a statement on the basis of an alleged Miranda violation, he bears the burden to show that the statement was the product of custodial interrogation.  See Herrera v. State, 241 S.W.3d 520, 526 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007); Wilkerson v. State, 173 S.W.3d 521, 532 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).  "In determining whether an individual was in custody, a court must examine all of the circumstances surrounding the interrogation, but the ultimate inquiry is simply whether there [was] a formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement of the degree associated with a formal arrest."  See Stansbury v. California, 511 U.S. at 322 (internal quotes omitted); Dowthitt v. State, 931 S.W.2d at 254 ("A person is in custody only if, under the circumstances, a[n objectively] reasonable person would believe that his freedom of movement was restrained to the degree associated with a formal arrest.") (internal quotes omitted).
A person who is stopped only temporarily is not in custody for purposes of
Miranda.  State v Sheppard, 271 S.W.3d 281, 289 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008).  Appellate courts review the legal determination of detention, reasonable suspicion, and probable cause under the Fourth Amendment de novo while granting great deference to a trial court's factual findings.  Id. at 286

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