March 13, 2012 – State of New Mexico v. Carlos A., No. 30,670

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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

Opinion Number:

Filing Date: _MARCH 13, 2012

NO. 30,670

STATE OF NEW MEXICO,
Plaintiff-A ppellee,

V.

CARLOS A.,
Child-A ppellant.

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF SANJUAN COUNTY
Sandra A. Price, District Judge

Gary K. King, Attomey General

Olga Serafimova, Assistant Attomey General
Santa Fe, NM

for Appellee

Law Offices of Nancy L. Simmons, P.C.
Nancy L. Simmons
Albuquerque, NM

for Appellant

OPINION
FRY, Judge.
{1} 	Carlos A. asks us to determine that his status as a minor rendered involuntary
his consent to search the car he was driving because the police officer requesting the
search failed to inform Carlos that he had the right to deny consent. We hold that
minors have no greater rights than adults in the context of consent to search and that
the officer’s failure to advise Carlos of the right to deny consent did not render his
consent involuntary. 	We affirm the district court’s denial of Carlos’s suppression
motion.
BACKGROUND
{2} 	The State filed a delinquency petition against Carlos charging him with
distribution or possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of drug
paraphernalia, and driving without a light illuminating the license plate. Carlos filed
a motion to suppress, arguing primarily that his consent to search was invalid under
NMSA 1978, Section 32A-2-14 (2009), State v. Javier M., 2001-NMSC-030, 131
N.M. 1, 33 P.3d 1, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and
Article II, Section 10 of the New Mexico Constitution.
{3} 	Officer Guy Postlewait testified at the suppression hearing that on an evening
in February 2010, he was on patrol in Farmington, New Mexico, when he observed

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a car whose license plate was unreadable from fifty feet. He initiated a traffic stop and
made contact with Carlos, the driver. Officer Postlewait immediately smelled a very
strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the car, and he saw a bandana with a
marijuana-leaf design hanging from the rearview mirror. Carlos had no identification
and no driver’s license, but he told the officer his name, and the officer later
confirmed his identity. Officer Postlewait asked Carlos why he could smell marijuana
in the car, and Carlos responded that he had smoked marijuana about an hour before.
{4} 	At this point, Officer Postlewait asked Carlos to get out of his car and then
asked whether Carlos minded if he searched Carlos’s person for marijuana. Carlos
said that he did not mind, and Officer Postlewait searched Carlos but found nothing.
Officer Postlewait knew that he wanted to ask Carlos for consent to search his car so
he called for backup. Captain Keith McPheeters, who was on his way home, arrived
at the scene, and then Officer Travis Spruell arrived. Officer Postlewait asked Carlos
for consent to search his car, and Carlos agreed. Although Officer Postlewait thought
he could get a warrant to search the car if Carlos did not consent, he never mentioned
a warrant to Carlos. Officer Postlewait testified that he has never advised anyone that
they have the right to refuse consent.
{5} 	During Officer Postlewait’s search of the car, he found several clear plastic bags
containing a green, leafy substance and a metal pipe. Officer Postlewait’s training and

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experience allowed him to conclude that the substance was similar to marijuana, and
the pipe was the type commonly used to smoke marijuana. During the search of the
car, dispatch contacted Officer Postlewait and told him that Carlos was seventeen
years old.
{6} 	After completing the search of the car, Officer Postlewait called Carlos over,
laid out the evidence on the police car’s hood, and asked Carlos for his mother’s
phone number. He then read Carlos his rights from a card listing juvenile Miranda
rights. 	When asked, Carlos said that he was willing to talk to Officer Postlewait,
whereupon Carlos identified the substance as marijuana, admitted that the marijuana
was his, and said that he had been selling marijuana for about a week. The field test
of the substance was presumptively positive for marijuana.
{7} 	Officer Postlewait testified about the circumstances surrounding the encounter.
He said that Carlos was extremely friendly and polite and that Officer Postlewait
treated him the same way. The replay of Officer Postlewait’s car video confirmed the
neutrality of the interaction. None of the officers drew a gun or spoke in a threatening
manner. 	The detention from the time of the traffic stop to Officer’s Postlewait’s
request to search the car was about three minutes, and it was about ten minutes from
the time of the stop to the end of the car search. Carlos said that he was in a hurry to
pick up his girlfriend at work and, once Officer Postlewait located the marijuana, he

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let Carlos call his girlfriend. 	Once the search was completed, the detention was
extended while everyone waited for the car’s registered owner and Carlos’s parents
to arrive.
{8} 	Carlos also testified at the suppression hearing. He was seventeen years old at
the time and had dropped out of school in the tenth grade. He remembers only Officer
Postlewait being on the scene when the officer asked if he could search Carlos’s
person, but there was “another guy” there when he asked to search the car. Before this
occasion, a police officer had never asked Carlos to consent to a search, and Carlos
did not know that he could refuse consent.
{9} 	At the conclusion of the hearing, the district court denied Carlos’s suppression
motion and stated that it had heard nothing indicating that Carlos’s consent was not
voluntarily given. It further stated that the law does not require a person to know that
he or she has a right to deny consent to search and that the law does not expand
juvenile rights in the context of searches. Carlos entered a conditional guilty plea, and
this appeal followed.

1Carlos does not argue on appeal that the statements he made in response to
Officer Postlewait’s questions should have been suppressed, although he does not
appear to have waived that argument.
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DISCUSSION
{10} 	Carlos makes one argument on appeal. He maintains that, in keeping with the
New Mexico Children’s Code and Javier M., juveniles are entitled to expanded rights
under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the New Mexico
Constitution. 	Under these expanded rights, Carlos continues, Officer Postlewait
should have advised him that he had the right to refuse consent to the search of his car.
Carlos argues that because Officer Postlewait did not give him this advice, his consent
was not voluntary.1
{11} 	In reviewing an order on a motion to suppress, “we defer to the district court’s
findings of fact that are supported by substantial evidence, and we review the district
court’s application of the law to the facts de novo.” State v. Randy J., 2011-NMCA-
105, ¶ 10, 150 N.M. 683, 265 P.3d 734. To the extent that our analysis of Carlos’s
argument involves interpretation of the Children’s Code, our review is de novo. Id.
{12} 	We understand Carlos to focus his argument on the validity of the car search
under the Fourth Amendment. While Carlos mentions the New Mexico Constitution,
he does not contend on appeal that the New Mexico Constitution confers broader
rights than the United States Constitution. 	Moreover, Carlos has not offered any

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reasons supporting divergence from federal precedent in this area, which is required
under the interstitial analysis adopted in State v. Gomez, 1997-NMSC-006, ¶¶ 19-22,
122 N.M. 777, 932 P.2d 1. As a result, we focus on Fourth Amendment jurisprudence
as it has developed in our state. 	We first outline the Fourth Amendment’s
requirements for obtaining a valid consent to search from an adult and then consider
whether the Children’s Code imposes additional requirements when the accused is a
minor.
Consent Under the Fourth Amendment
{13} 	The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches by government
officials and requires a search warrant unless certain exceptions to the warrant
requirement are established. 	See State v. Paul T., 1999-NMSC-037, ¶ 9, 128 N.M.
360, 993 P.2d 74. One such exception is a consensual search “because [such searches]
are manifestly reasonable.” 	Id. ¶ 28. To establish consent, the prosecution has the
burden of proving, under the totality of the circumstances, that “the consent given to
search [was] voluntary and not a product of duress, coercion, or other vitiating
factors.” 	Id. 	The voluntariness of consent is a fact question that we review for
substantial evidence. Id.
{14} 	In assessing the totality of the circumstances, the fact finder considers factors
such as “the individual characteristics of the person who gave consent, the

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circumstances under which the person is detained, and the manner in which [the]
police requested the search.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The
ultimate inquiry is whether the will of the consenting person has been overborne.
State v. Flores, 2008-NMCA-074, ¶ 13, 144 N.M. 217, 185 P.3d 1067.
{15} 	Our case law has also established that the Fourth Amendment does not require
police officers “to first advise a person of his [or her] right to refuse consent in order
to obtain a valid consent,” at least in the context of a so-called “knock and talk”
situation, where “police go to a suspect’s home in an attempt to gain his [or her]
cooperation.” Id. ¶¶ 5, 16. Instead, “the presence or absence of [the] knowledge [of
the right to refuse consent] is but one factor to consider in the matrix to determine
whether a consent to search is voluntary.” Id. ¶ 16.
{16} 	Significantly, Flores involved consent to search a home. Because “[t]he place
afforded the greatest protection by the Fourth Amendment is a person’s home,” id.,
¶ 12, it is logical to conclude that a request to search a motor vehicle—which does not
carry the same heightened expectation of privacy as a home—would be subject to the
same analysis. See State v. Bomboy, 2008-NMSC-029, ¶ 12, 144 N.M. 151, 184 P.3d
1045 (clarifying that the privacy interest in an automobile should not be equated with
the privacy interest in a home); see also State v. Valencia Olaya, 105 N.M. 690, 694,
736 P.2d 495, 499 (Ct. App. 1987) (suggesting that knowledge of the right to refuse

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consent is not required in order to have effective consent to search an automobile).
It follows that a police officer requesting consent to search an automobile need not
advise the person of the right to refuse consent in order to obtain valid consent, but the
person’s 	knowledge 	of 	this 	right 	is 	a 	factor 	to 	be 	considered 	in 	analyzing
voluntariness.
Minors Are Not Entitled to Broader Protections in This Context
{17} 	We now turn to the ultimate issue in this case, which is whether minors are
entitled to broader protections than adults when they are asked to consent to
automobile searches. 	Carlos contends that the Children’s Code and the case law
interpreting it reflect the recognition that “children are particularly vulnerable, even
during simple investigative detentions, and should be advised of all of their options
prior to a police officer taking any further action.”
{18} 	Carlos asks us to draw an analogy between a minor’s rights under the Fourth
Amendment and a minor’s rights under the Fifth Amendment, which have been
explicitly expanded by Section 32A-2-14(C) of the Children’s Code. 	That statute
states that “[n]o person subject to the provisions of the Delinquency Act who is
alleged or suspected of being a delinquent child shall be interrogated or questioned
without first advising the child of the child’s constitutional rights and securing a
knowing, intelligent and voluntary waiver.” 	Section 32A-2-14(C). 	Our Supreme

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Court interpreted this provision as requiring that “children who are subject to
investigatory detentions are statutorily entitled only to be warned of their right to
remain silent and that anything they say can be used against them.” Javier M., 2001-
NMSC-030, ¶ 41 (emphasis added). In arguing that children should also be advised
of their right to refuse consent to search, Carlos relies on specific language in Javier
M., where the Court stated, “Given a child’s possible immaturity and susceptibility to
intimidation, a child who is subject to an investigatory detention may feel pressures
similar to those experienced by adults during custodial interrogation.” 	Id. ¶ 37.
Carlos maintains that this susceptibility to intimidation should lead us to impose an
additional requirement that police advise children of their right to refuse consent to
search.
{19} 	We are not persuaded. 	Section 32A-2-14(A) expressly states that a child is
“entitled to the same basic rights as an adult, except as otherwise provided in the
Children’s Code.” 	There is no provision in the Children’s Code giving children
greater rights under the Fourth Amendment than an adult enjoys. 	In addition, the
Court in Javier M. clarified that Section 32A-2-14 “only protects against a child’s
statements which are made during an investigatory detention in response to a police
officer’s questioning.” Javier M., 2001-NMSC-030, ¶ 40 (emphasis added). Carlos

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does not argue that his consent to search the car constituted a statement subject to
suppression under Section 32A-2-14.
{20} 	In addition, in cases this Court has decided since 	Javier M., we have
consistently refused to expand children’s rights beyond those specifically provided in
the Children’s Code. In State v. Lorenzo P., we rejected the child’s argument that
children are entitled to a different due process standard than the standard applied to
adults. 2011-NMCA-013, ¶ 12, 149 N.M. 373, 249 P.3d 85. And in State v. Candace
S., 2012-NMCA-___, ¶ 26, ___ N.M. ___, ____ P.3d ___ (No. 30,331, Dec. 27,
2011), we concluded that a police officer is not required to advise a child that he or
she may deny consent to perform field sobriety tests. We stated in Candace S. that
“with the exception of th[e] very limited statutory requirement [in Section 32A-2-14]
to advise a child of the right to remain silent and of the consequences of waiving that
right, a child’s constitutional rights are the same as an adult’s rights.” 	Candace S.,
2012-NMCA-____, ¶ 27. There is no authority requiring a police officer to advise
an adult of the right to deny consent to search, and there is similarly no such
requirement applicable to children.
{21} 	Carlos has not directed us to any authority granting children this expanded
protection. He claims that the Florida Court of Appeals did so in B.S. v. State, 548 So.
2d 838 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1989), but we do not agree. In B.S., the child had been

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asked to accompany police to the police station for questioning. 548 So. 2d at 838-39.
She complied and confessed to the crimes of which she was accused. Id. at 839. The
appellate court concluded that the child’s confession was “not procured through her
voluntary consent” and should have been suppressed. Id. at 841. Thus, the issue in
that case revolved around the Fifth Amendment guarantee against self-incrimination,
not the Fourth Amendment as in the present case. As a result, the holding in B.S. is
not persuasive. 	We therefore reject Carlos’s argument that his status as a minor
entitled him to be advised of the right to deny consent to search.
Carlos’s Consent Was Voluntary
{22} 	We now consider whether substantial evidence supported the district court’s
finding that Carlos’s consent to the car search was voluntary. 	See Paul T., 1999-
NMSC-037, ¶ 28 (explaining that “[w]hether consent was voluntarily given is a
factual question, and the trial court’s determination will not be disturbed on appeal
unless it is not supported by substantial evidence”). The district court considered the
factors informing the totality of the circumstances and noted that the contact between
Officer Postlewait and Carlos took place quickly in a public setting, the contact was
not hostile, and Officer Postlewait did not exert any unusual pressure on Carlos.
{23} 	Officer Postlewait’s testimony supported these observations. 	He noted that
Carlos pulled into a mall parking lot around 9:00 p.m. and that the encounter lasted

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about ten minutes from the time of the stop to the end of the car search. The audio
record reveals a low-key, polite encounter and cooperation between Officer Postlewait
and Carlos. 	When Officer Postlewait asked for consent to the car search, he said
calmly, “Got any marijuana in your car? 	Okay, can I search it?” 	Carlos was
seventeen at the time, so he was less than a year from adulthood. It is also clear from
the district court’s comments that it properly considered the fact that Officer
Postlewait did not advise Carlos that he could deny consent. 	See Flores, 2008-
NMCA-074, ¶ 16 (explaining that knowledge or lack of knowledge of the right to
deny consent “is but one factor to consider in the matrix to determine whether a
consent to search is voluntary”). However, as we have indicated, this factor is not
dispositive.
{24} 	We hold that substantial evidence supported the district court’s finding that
Carlos voluntarily consented to the search of the car. Therefore, we affirm the denial
of Carlos’s motion to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of the search.
CONCLUSION
{25} 	We affirm.
{26} 	IT IS SO ORDERED.
CYNTHIA A. FRY, Judge

I CONCUR:

CELIA FOY CASTILLO, Chief Judge

RODERICK T. KENNEDY, Judge (Specially concurring).

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KENNEDY, Judge (specially concurring).	1
{27} 	I write separately only to emphasize what the Opinion, in its latter discussion,	2
suggests—that the issue of an inherently coercive atmosphere has been lost in the	3
shuffle because it was eschewed by Defendant in emphasizing his “right” to be	4
advised that he could refuse to consent to a search. I am concerned that a view toward	5
the totality of the circumstances surrounding a juvenile’s consent to search is broader	6
than the issue Defendant argued.	7
{28} 	The facts show that the officer stopped Defendant, had him exit the car, frisked	8
him, questioned him about his marijuana use, and detained him until two other officers	9
arrived on the scene before asking him for consent to search the car. This smacks of	10
a situation in which the voluntariness of Defendant’s consent depends less on his	11
knowledge that he can refuse consent and more on the coercive atmosphere inherent	12
to this situation.	13
{29} 	In a more fully-developed case, I would be more inclined to follow the outline	14
given us by the United States Supreme Court:	15
[W]hen . . . the [s]tate attempts to justify a search on the basis of . . .	16
consent, 	the 	Fourth 	and 	Fourteenth 	Amendments 	require 	that 	it	17
demonstrate that the consent was in fact voluntarily given, and not the	18
result of duress or coercion, express or implied. Voluntariness is a	19
question of fact to be determined from all the circumstances, and while	20
the subject’s knowledge of a right to refuse is a factor to be taken into	21
account, the prosecution is not required to demonstrate such knowledge	22
as a prerequisite to establishing a voluntary consent.	23

WN

Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 249-50 (1973).

RODERICK T. KENNEDY, J udge

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