United States v. Sanders, No. 14-1296 (10th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CasePolice officers in Aurora, Colorado were looking for Beverly Sanders on an outstanding warrant for failure to comply with probation conditions related to a prior controlled substance conviction. They found a Mitsubishi Eclipse that they believed belonged to Sanders parked in the lot of a Goodwill store. Sanders and a companion, Ian Hussey, exited the store, walked to the car, and were ordered to the ground by police. Sanders was immediately arrested for the outstanding warrant. Although Sanders gave permission for a third party to come pick up the vehicle, the police did not ask Sanders whether she knew anyone who could remove the car. Hussey was released after police cleared him of outstanding warrants, but he remained on the scene, inquiring about what would happen to the car and offering to contact someone to pick up the car, although he did not identify anyone specifically. Police were unwilling to release the car to Hussey because he did not have a valid driver’s license. Approximately thirty seconds after Hussey was released, he was arrested when police found a baggie containing what appeared to be heroin near the location where he had been ordered to the ground during Sanders’ arrest. Aurora police use an impoundment form that contains a liability release, under which an arrestee may agree to release police from liability for any damage to or theft of their car, and also to leave their car in place for no more than 24 hours. Sanders was not asked by any officer to sign that waiver. The police nevertheless decided to impound the Eclipse out of fear that its contents, attractive exterior, and after-market accessories would lead to a break-in, particularly because it was located in a high-crime area after dark. One of the officers testified that she believed that the car would be broken into within two hours if left in the parking lot. Aurora has an ordinance listing 21 separate grounds for impounding a vehicle, but the vehicle being located in a high-crime area or being a likely target for a crime are not among them. At issue before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals was the constitutionality of a decision to impound a vehicle based on a community-caretaking justification. Police impounded the vehicle despite having none of the 21 grounds to justify the action. Police later found contraband inside that was used against Sanders in proceedings related to the parole violation. She moved to suppress the contraband found inside her vehicle, arguing the impoundment was unconstitutional. The Tenth Circuit concluded the impoundment at issue here was unconstitutional for two reasons: (1) it was not guided by the 21 standardized criteria; and (2) it was not justified by a legitimate community-caretaking rationale. The Court agreed with the trial court to grant Sanders' motion to suppress.
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