State of Tennessee v. Edward Johnson

In this Rule 9 interlocutory appeal, the defendant, Edward Johnson, appeals the Cannon County Circuit Court's denial of his motion to suppress. Believing them to still be married, officers approached the defendant's ex-wife and sought consent to search the property during a manhunt. During the subsequent search, officers located a marijuana laboratory in a garage on the defendant's property. The defendant was arrested and charged with manufacturing marijuana over 100 plants, possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, and maintaining a building for the purpose of keeping or selling controlled substances. The defendant filed a motion to suppress, challenging the search. The trial court found that the search was valid because the defendant's ex-wife had common authority over the garage. On appeal, the defendant challenges the denial, specifically questioning whether: (1) his ex-wife consented to a search and, if so, whether she had common authority over the property sufficient to allow her to give valid consent; and (2) officers violated his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures when they entered his property and surrounded the buildings without a warrant in the absence of exigent circumstances. After review, we disagree with the trial court and conclude that the defendant's ex-wife had no actual common authority over the garage. Nonetheless, because the facts available to the officers would have warranted "a man of reasonable caution in the belief that the consenting party had authority over the premises," we affirm the denial of the motion to suppress. Moreover, we conclude that the officers did not violate the defendant's rights by entering the property prior to consent. As such, the denial of the motion to suppress is affirmed, and the case is remanded to the trial court for trial.