Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

Maryland v. Pringle

Md. v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366 (2003)

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
2003-12-15
Topic
general

How later courts describe this case

  • holding that “the belief of guilt must be particularized with respect to the person to be searched or seized”
  • holding that probable cause existed to arrest a passenger seated in the front of a car on a charge of possession of cocaine where police discovered cocaine in the backseat
  • holding that "[t]he substance of all the definitions of probable cause is a reasonable ground for belief of guilt"
  • holding that police officers had probable cause to arrest all three occupants of a vehicle where cocaine was accessible to all three
  • recognizing that an officer may make a warrantless arrest of a person in a public place if supported by probable cause
  • holding that probable cause existed to arrest all of a vehicle’s occupants after police discovered cocaine and money over which no occupant claimed possession
  • concluding that the officer had probable cause to arrest all occupants of a vehicle based on drugs and cash found therein
  • holding that large amount of drugs in vehicle provided probable cause to believe any of three men in vehicle had committed crime

Citator

UpLaw has not yet analyzed Maryland v. Pringle. The absence of a flag is not a finding that it is good law.

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pending
Cited by
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Distinguished
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Headnotes

  1. Criminal Law & Procedure — Fourth Amendment A warrantless arrest of an individual in a public place for a felony, or for a misdemeanor committed in the officer's presence, is consistent with the Fourth Amendment if the arrest is supported by probable cause. United States v. Watson, 423 U.S. 411, 424 (1976); Atwater v. Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318, 354 (2001)
  2. Criminal Law & Procedure — Probable Cause The probable-cause standard is a practical, nontechnical conception dealing with the factual and practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent persons, not legal technicians, act; it is a fluid concept incapable of precise definition or quantification into percentages because it turns on the assessment of probabilities in particular factual contexts and depends on the totality of the circumstances. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 231–232 (1983); Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175 (1949)
  3. Criminal Law & Procedure — Probable Cause The substance of all the definitions of probable cause is a reasonable ground for belief of guilt, and that belief of guilt must be particularized with respect to the person to be searched or seized. Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175 (1949); Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85, 91 (1979)
  4. Criminal Law & Procedure — Probable Cause To determine whether an officer had probable cause to arrest an individual, a court must examine the events leading up to the arrest and then decide whether those historical facts, viewed from the standpoint of an objectively reasonable police officer, amount to probable cause. Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 696 (1996)
  5. Criminal Law & Procedure — Probable Cause Where drugs and a large quantity of cash are found in a relatively small automobile occupied by several persons and accessible to all of them, and none of the occupants offers any information regarding ownership of the contraband, it is an entirely reasonable inference that any or all of the occupants had knowledge of and exercised dominion and control over the drugs; a reasonable officer may therefore conclude that probable cause exists to believe a passenger committed the crime of possession of cocaine, either solely or jointly. 540 U.S. 366, 371–372, 373–374
  6. Criminal Law & Procedure — Probable Cause A person's mere propinquity to others independently suspected of criminal activity does not, without more, give rise to probable cause to search or seize that person, and the requirement of particularized probable cause cannot be avoided merely because probable cause coincidentally exists to search or seize another or to search the premises where the person happens to be. Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85, 91 (1979)
  7. Criminal Law & Procedure — Probable Cause A car passenger, unlike an unwitting patron of a public tavern, will often be engaged in a common enterprise with the driver and share the same interest in concealing the fruits or evidence of their wrongdoing; where the quantity of drugs and cash in the car indicates the likelihood of drug dealing, it is reasonable for an officer to infer a common enterprise among the occupants, since a dealer would be unlikely to admit an innocent person with the potential to furnish evidence against him. Wyoming v. Houghton, 526 U.S. 295, 304–305 (1999)
  8. Criminal Law & Procedure — Probable Cause Any inference that everyone on the scene of a crime is a party to it must disappear where the Government informer singles out the guilty person; no such singling out occurs where none of the vehicle's occupants provides information regarding ownership of the contraband. United States v. Di Re, 332 U.S. 581, 594 (1948)
  9. Criminal Law & Procedure — Probable Cause In assessing probable cause, a factor such as the presence of money must be considered as part of the totality of the circumstances rather than in isolation, since money alone may be innocuous but may contribute to probable cause when combined with other facts and circumstances within the officer's knowledge. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 230–231 (1983); Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175–176 (1949)
MARYLAND v. PRINGLE,540 U.S. 366(2003)
124 S.Ct. 795
MARYLAND v. PRINGLE.
No. 02-809.
CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND.
Argued November 3, 2003.
Decided December 15, 2003.
A police officer stopped a car for speeding at 3:16 a.m.; searched the car, seizing $763 from the glove compartment and cocaine from behind the back-seat armrest; and arrested the car's three occupants after they denied ownership of the drugs and money. Respondent Pringle, the front-seat passenger, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of cocaine, and was sentenced to 10 years' incarceration without the possibility of parole. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed, but the State Court of Appeals reversed, holding that, absent specific facts tending to show Pringle's knowledge and dominion or control over the drugs, the mere finding of cocaine in the back armrest when Pringle was a front-seat passenger in a car being driven by its owner was insufficient to establish probable cause for an arrest for possession.Held:Because the officer had probable cause to arrest Pringle, the arrest did not contravene theFourthandFourteenthAmendments. Maryland law authorizes police officers to execute warrantless arrests,inter alia, where the officer has probable cause to believe that a felony has been committed or is being committed in the officer's presence. Here, it is uncontested that the officer, upon recovering the suspected cocaine, had probable cause to believe a felony had been committed; the question is whether he had probable cause to believe Pringle committed that crime. The "substance of all the definitions of probable cause is a reasonable ground for belief of guilt,"Brinegarv.United States,338 U. S. 160,175, and that belief must be particularized with respect to the person to be searched or seized,Ybarrav.Illinois,444 U. S. 85,91. To determine whether an officer had probable cause to make an arrest, a court must examine the events leading up to the arrest, and then decide "whether these historical facts, viewed from the standpoint of an objectively reasonable police officer, amount to" probable cause.Ornelasv.United States,517 U. S. 690,696. As it is an entirely reasonable inference from the facts here that any or all of the car's occupants had knowledge of, and exercised dominion and control over, the cocaine, a reasonable officer could conclude that there was probable cause to believe Pringle committed the crime of possession of cocaine, either solely or jointly. Pringle's attempt to characterize this as a guilt-by-association case isPage 367unavailing.Ybarrav.Illinois, supra, andUnited Statesv.Di Re,332 U. S. 581, distinguished. Pp. 369-374.370 Md. 525,805 A. 2d 1016, reversed and remanded.

REHNQUIST, C. J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.
Gary E. Bair, Solicitor General of Maryland, argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs wereJ. Joseph Curran, Jr., Attorney General, andKathryn Grill GraeffandShannon E. Avery, Assistant Attorneys General.Sri Srinivasanargued the cause for the United States asamicus curiaeurging reversal. With him on the brief wereSolicitor General Olson, Assistant AttorneyGeneral Chertoff Deputy Solicitor General Dreeben, andDeborah Watson.Nancy S. Forsterargued the cause for respondent. With her on the brief wereStephen E. HarrisandSherrie Glasser.fn*
CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST delivered the opinion of the Court.
In the early morning hours a passenger car occupied by three men was stopped for speeding by a police officer. ThePage 368officer, upon searching the car, seized $763 of rolled-up cash from the glove compartment and five glassine baggies of cocaine from between the back-seat armrest and the back seat. After all three men denied ownership of the cocaine and money, the officer arrested each of them. We hold that the officer had probable cause to arrest Pringle — one of the three men.

At 3:16 a.m. on August 7, 1999, a Baltimore County Police officer stopped a Nissan Maxima for speeding. There were three occupants in the car: Donte Partlow, the driver and owner, respondent Pringle, the front-seat passenger, and Otis Smith, the back-seat passenger. The officer asked Partlow for his license and registration. When Partlow opened the glove compartment to retrieve the vehicle registration, the officer observed a large amount of rolled-up money in the glove compartment. The officer returned to his patrol car with Partlow's license and registration to check the computer system for outstanding violations. The computer check did not reveal any violations. The officer returned to the stopped car, had Partlow get out, and issued him an oral warning.

After a second patrol car arrived, the officer asked Partlow if he had any weapons or narcotics in the vehicle. Partlow indicated that he did not. Partlow then consented to a search of the vehicle. The search yielded $763 from the glove compartment and five plastic glassine baggies containing cocaine from behind the back-seat armrest. When the officer began the search the armrest was in the upright position flat against the rear seat. The officer pulled down the armrest and found the drugs, which had been placed between the armrest and the back seat of the car.

The officer questioned all three men about the ownership of the drugs and money, and told them that if no one admitted to ownership of the drugs he was going to arrest them all. The men offered no information regarding the ownershipPage 369of the drugs or money. All three were placed under arrest and transported to the police station.

Later that morning, Pringle waived his rights underMirandav.Arizona,384 U. S. 436(1966), and gave an oral and written confession in which he acknowledged that the cocaine belonged to him, that he and his friends were going to a party, and that he intended to sell the cocaine or "[u]se it for sex." App. 26. Pringle maintained that the other occupants of the car did not know about the drugs, and they were released.

The trial court denied Pringle's motion to suppress his confession as the fruit of an illegal arrest, holding that the officer had probable cause to arrest Pringle. A jury convicted Pringle of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of cocaine. He was sentenced to 10 years' incarceration without the possibility of parole. The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland affirmed.141 Md. App. 292,785A. 2d 790 (2001).

The Court of Appeals of Maryland, by divided vote, reversed, holding that, absent specific facts tending to show Pringle's knowledge and dominion or control over the drugs, "the mere finding of cocaine in the back armrest when [Pringle] was a front seat passenger in a car being driven by its owner is insufficient to establish probable cause for an arrest for possession."370 Md. 525,545,805 A. 2d 1016,1027(2002). We granted certiorari,538 U.S. 921(2003), and now reverse.

Under theFourthAmendment, made applicable to the States by theFourteenthAmendment,Mappv.Ohio,367 U. S. 643(1961), the people are "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, . . . and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause. . . ." U.S. Const., Amdt.4. Maryland law authorizes police officers to execute warrantless arrests,inter alia, for felonies committed in an officer's presence or where an officer has probable cause to believe that a felonyPage 370has been committed or is being committed in the officer's presence. Md. Ann. Code, Art. 27, § 594B (1996) (repealed 2001). A warrantless arrest of an individual in a public place for a felony, or a misdemeanor committed in the officer's presence, is consistent with theFourthAmendment if the arrest is supported by probable cause.United Statesv.Watson,423 U. S. 411,424(1976); seeAtwaterv.Logo Vista,532 U. S. 318,354(2001) (stating that "[i]f an officer has probable cause to believe that an individual has committed even a very minor criminal offense in his presence, he may, without violating theFourthAmendment, arrest the offender").

It is uncontested in the present case that the officer, upon recovering the five plastic glassine baggies containing suspected cocaine, had probable cause to believe a felony had been committed. Md. Ann. Code, Art. 27, § 287 (1996) (repealed 2002) (prohibiting possession of controlled dangerous substances). The sole question is whether the officer had probable cause to believe that Pringle committed that crime.1

The long-prevailing standard of probable cause protects "citizens from rash and unreasonable interferences with privacy and from unfounded charges of crime," while giving "fair leeway for enforcing the law in the community's protection."Brinegarv.United States,338 U. S. 160,176(1949). On many occasions, we have reiterated that the probable-cause standard is a "`practical, nontechnical conception'" that deals with "`the factual and practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent men, not legal technicians, act.'"Illinoisv.Gates,462 U. S. 213,231(1983) (quotingBrinegar, supra, at 175-176); see,e. g.,Ornelasv.United States,517 U. S. 690,695(1996);United Statesv.Sokolow,490 U. S. 1,7-8(1989). "[P]robable cause is a fluidPage 371concept — turning on the assessment of probabilities in particular factual contexts — not readily, or even usefully, reduced to a neat set of legal rules."Gates,462 U. S., at 232.

The probable-cause standard is incapable of precise definition or quantification into percentages because it deals with probabilities and depends on the totality of the circumstances. Seeibid.; Brinegar,338 U. S., at 175. We have stated, however, that "[t]he substance of all the definitions of probable cause is a reasonable ground for belief of guilt,"ibid, (internal quotation marks and citations omitted), and that the belief of guilt must be particularized with respect to the person to be searched or seized,Ybarrav.Illinois,444 U. S. 85,91(1979). InIllinoisv.Gates, we noted:
"As early asLockev.United States, 7 Cranch 339, 348 (1813), Chief Justice Marshall observed, in a closely related context: `[T]he term "probable cause," according to its usual acceptation, means less than evidence which would justify condemnation. . . . It imports a seizure made under circumstances which warrant suspicion.' More recently, we said that `thequanta. . . of proof appropriate in ordinary judicial proceedings are inapplicable to the decision to issue a warrant.Brinegar,338 U. S., at 173. Finely tuned standards such as proof beyond a reasonable doubt or by a preponderance of the evidence, useful in formal trials, have no place in the [probable-cause] decision."462 U. S., at 235.


To determine whether an officer had probable cause to arrest an individual, we examine the events leading up to the arrest, and then decide "whether these historical facts, viewed from the standpoint of an objectively reasonable police officer, amount to" probable cause,Ornelas, supra, at 696.

In this case, Pringle was one of three men riding in a Nissan Maxima at 3:16 a.m. There was $763 of rolled-up cashPage 372in the glove compartment directly in front of Pringle.2Five plastic glassine baggies of cocaine were behind the back-seat armrest and accessible to all three men. Upon questioning, the three men failed to offer any information with respect to the ownership of the cocaine or the money.

We think it an entirely reasonable inference from these facts that any or all three of the occupants had knowledge of, and exercised dominion and control over, the cocaine. Thus, a reasonable officer could conclude that there was probable cause to believe Pringle committed the crime of possession of cocaine, either solely or jointly.

Pringle's attempt to characterize this case as a guilt-by-association case is unavailing. His reliance onYbarrav.Illinois, supra, andUnitedStatesv.Di Re,332 U. S. 581(1948), is misplaced. InYbarra, police officers obtained a warrant to search a tavern and its bartender for evidence of possession of a controlled substance. Upon entering the tavern, the officers conducted patdown searches of the customers present in the tavern, including Ybarra. Inside a cigarette pack retrieved from Ybarra's pocket, an officer found six tinfoil packets containing heroin. We stated:
"[A] person's mere propinquity to others independently suspected of criminal activity does not, without more,Page 373give rise to probable cause to search that person.Sibronv.New York,392 U. S. 40,62-63(1968). Where the standard is probable cause, a search or seizure of a person must be supported by probable cause particularized with respect to that person. This requirement cannot be undercut or avoided by simply pointing to the fact that coincidentally there exists probable cause to search or seize another or to search the premises where the person may happen to be."444 U. S., at 91.


We held that the search warrant did not permit body searches of all of the tavern's patrons and that the police could not pat down the patrons for weapons, absent individualized suspicion.Id., at 92.

This case is quite different fromYbarra.Pringle and his two companions were in a relatively small automobile, not a public tavern. InWyomingv.Houghton,526 U. S. 295(1999), we noted that "a car passenger — unlike the unwitting tavern patron inYbarra"will often be engaged in a common enterprise with the driver, and have the same interest in concealing the fruits or the evidence of their wrongdoing."Id., at 304-305. Here we think it was reasonable for the officer to infer a common enterprise among the three men. The quantity of drugs and cash in the car indicated the likelihood of drug dealing, an enterprise to which a dealer would be unlikely to admit an innocent person with the potential to furnish evidence against him. InDiRe, a federal investigator had been told by an informant, Reed, that he was to receive counterfeit gasoline ration coupons from a certain Buttitta at a particular place. The investigator went to the appointed place and saw Reed, the sole occupant of the rear seat of the car, holding gasoline ration coupons. There were two other occupants in the car: Buttitta in the driver's seat and Di Re in the front passenger's seat. Reed informed the investigator that Buttitta had given him counterfeit coupons. Thereupon, all three men were arrested and searched. After noting that the officers had no information implicatingPage 374Di Re and no information pointing to Di Re's possession of coupons, unless presence in the car warranted that inference, we concluded that the officer lacked probable cause to believe that Di Re was involved in the crime.332 U. S., at 592-594. We said "[a]ny inference that everyone on the scene of a crime is a party to it must disappear if the Government informer singles out the guilty person."Id., at 594. No such singling out occurred in this case; none of the three men provided information with respect to the ownership of the cocaine or money.

We hold that the officer had probable cause to believe that Pringle had committed the crime of possession of a controlled substance. Pringle's arrest therefore did not contravene theFourthandFourteenthAmendments. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals of Maryland is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.It is so ordered.Page 375
  1. Briefs ofamid curiaeurging reversal were filed for the State of Ohio et al. byJim Petro, Attorney General of Ohio,Douglas R. Cole, State Solicitor,Stephen P. Carney, Senior Deputy Solicitor, andDiane Richards Brey, Deputy Solicitor, and by the Attorneys General for their respective jurisdictions as follows:William H. Pryor, Jr., of Alabama,GreggRenkesof Alaska,Christopher L. Moranoof Connecticut,M. Jane Bradyof Delaware,Mark J.Bennettof Hawaii,Lisa Madiganof Illinois,Richard P. Ieyoubof Louisiana,Michael A.Coxof Michigan,Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixonof Missouri,Mike McGrathof Montana,BrianSandovalof Nevada,Patricia A. Madridof New Mexico,W. A. Drew Edmondsonof Oklahoma,AnabelleRodriguezof Puerto Rico,Henry Dargan McMasterof South Carolina,Larry Longof South Dakota,Greg Abbottof Texas,Mark L. Shurtleffof Utah,Jerry W. Kilgoreof Virginia, andDarrell V.McGraw, Jr., of West Virginia; and for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation byKent S. ScheideggerandCharles L. Hobson.Steven R. ShapiroandLisa Kemlerfiled a brief for the American Civil Liberties Union et al. asamici curiaeurging affirmance. ↩
  2. Maryland law defines "possession" as "the exercise of actual or constructive dominion or control over a thing by one or more persons." Md. Ann. Code, Art. 27, § 277(s) (1996) (repealed 2002). ↩
  3. The Court of Appeals of Maryland dismissed the $763 seized from the glove compartment as a factor in the probable-cause determination, stating that "[m]oney, without more, is innocuous."370 Md. 524,546,805 A. 2d 1016,1028(2002). The court's consideration of the money in isolation, rather than as a factor in the totality of the circumstances, is mistaken in light of our precedents. See,e. g.,Illinoisv.Gates,462 U. S. 213,230-231(1983) (opining that the totality of the circumstances approach is consistent with our prior treatment of probable cause);Brinegarv.United States,338 U. S. 160,175-176(1949) ("Probable cause exists where `the facts and circumstances within their [the officers'] knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information [are] sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief that' an offense has been or is being committed"). We think it is abundantly clear from the facts that this case involves more than money alone. ↩