IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT NASHVILLE
SEPTEMBE R SESSION, 1999
FILED
December 7, 1999
Cecil Crowson, Jr.
STATE OF TENNESSEE, ) C.C.A. # Appellate Court Clerk
M1999 01439 CCA R3 CD
)
Appellee, )
)
) DICKSON COUNTY
VS. )
) HON. ALLEN WALLACE,
RONALD WAYNE SMITH, ) JUDGE
)
Appe llant. ) (Certified Question-Search)
ON APPEAL FROM THE JUDGMENT OF THE
CIRCUIT COURT OF DICKSON COUNTY
FOR THE APPELLANT: FOR THE APPELLEE:
MICHAEL J. FLANAGAN PAUL G. SUMMERS
95 White Bridge Road #208 Attorney General and Reporter
Nashville, TN 37205
ELIZABETH T. RYAN
Assistant Attorney General
425 Fifth Avenu e North
Nashville, TN 37243
DAN ALSOBROOKS
District Attorney General
SUZANNE LOCKERT
Assistant District Attorney General
P.O. Box 580
Charlotte, TN 37036
OPINION FILED ________________________
REVERSED; CONVICTION VACATED
DAVID H. WELLES, JUDGE
OPINION
The Defenda nt, Ronald W ayne Sm ith, pleaded guilty in the C ircuit Court
of Dickson County to possession of cocaine for resale and possession of
marijuana for resale, reserving a certified question of law pursuant to Tennessee
Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2)(i). The certified question of law is whether
there were su fficient spec ific and articu lable facts to justify the stop of the
Defe ndan t’s vehicle and/or whether the duration of the stop excessive. We find
that there were not sufficient specific and articulabe facts to justify the stop of the
Defe ndan t’s vehicle. Because we conclude that the stop was illegal, we reverse
the order of the trial judge overruling the motion to suppress.
Before pleading guilty in this case, the Defendant filed a mo tion to
suppress the evidence seized in the warrantless search of his vehicle, which
motion was denied by the trial court after a suppression hearing. The only
witness to testify at the hearing was Mark Norrod, the State Trooper who stopped
the Defendant’s vehicle. Trooper Norrod testified that he was patrolling Inte rstate
40, traveling ea stboun d, on O ctober 7 , 1997. H e was traveling behind the
Defe ndan t’s vehicle. He could not recall how much dist ance was b etwee n his
vehicle and the Defendant’s vehicle, but said that the Defendant’s vehicle was
“within eyesight.” He observed the Defendant’s vehicle change lanes twice
without giving a signal, while in the process of passing another vehicle. After the
Defe ndan t’s vehicle passe d the other vehicle and returned to the right lane of
travel, it was driving on the white line near the edge of the roadway. Trooper
Norrod did no t say tha t the D efend ant’s vehicle created a ny type of hazard or that
it almost caused an accident by chang ing lanes without sig naling. He could not
remember the other vehicle applying brakes or taking any sort of evasive action
due to the Defendant’s vehicle passing it without signaling. Though he asserted
that the lane change was “improper,” Trooper Norrod did not classify this lane
change as a “fla grant v iolation .” He co uld no t recall for what distance the
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Defe ndan t’s vehicle drove on the white line, but he did admit that the Defendant
did not endanger himself or anyone else by driving on the white line. After
viewing the Defend ant make this lane chang e, Troope r Norrod stopped the
vehicle and started to give the Defendant a warning ticket for making an improper
lane cha nge.
At the suppression hearing, defense counsel attempted to clarify the
reason Trooper Norrod stopped the Defendant’s car, and the following colloquy
occurred:
Q. Was there anything else suspicious about the car other than the
way he changed lanes?
A. I’m sorry, what do you mean by suspicious?
Q. Anything suspicious to you about that car that made you curious
about it?
A. He failed to give a signal and that’s w hat I stopped h im for.
Q. Anyth ing other than that?
A. No, sir, that’s why I stopped him.
Q. There was no other reason, other than that, for you to stop him;
is that right?
A. Tha t’s correct.
Trooper Norrod asked the Defendant to get out of the car and move to the
rear of the car so that he could get away from the roadway while he wrote the
ticket. The Defendant locked the doors when he got out of the car. Trooper
Norrod engaged the Defendant in conversation while he w as prep aring the ticket.
The Defe ndan t told him that he had flown from Louisville, Kentucky to El Paso,
Texas to look for a friend; he then rented a car and was returning to Kentucky
when he could not find his friend. The car rental agreement required that the car
be returned in El Pa so in three days . The Defe ndant also told T rooper Norrod
that he was on disability. These comments made Trooper Norrod suspicious,
and he asked for consent to search the vehicle. The Defendant a greed to the
search, and when the Defendant opened the trunk, Trooper Norrod smelled a
strong odor of marijuana. He immediately placed the Defendant under arrest and
then unzipped a duffle bag in the trunk, where he discovered a large quantity of
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a substance believed to be marijuana. Another officer came to assist in the
search of the vehicle, and a substance believed to be cocaine was fo und a s well.
W hen Trooper No rrod tu rned o n his b lue ligh ts to sto p the D efend ant’s
vehicle, the video cam era in the police car was automatically activated. The tape
does not show the lan e cha nge, b ut inste ad sh ows th e Def enda nt drivin g in the
right-hand lane of traffic and pulling off the road. No other traffic is seen
imm ediate ly around the D efendant’s ca r. On the tape, T rooper No rrod is heard
telling the Defendant that he pulled him over because he changed lanes without
signaling, he was “riding” the white line, and he did not know if the Defendant was
drunk or tired. He asked the Defendant to get out of the car and then engaged
the Defen dant in co nversatio n while he was pre paring th e ticket. Im media tely
after he han ded the Defen dant the ticket, he as ked if he c ould sea rch the ca r, to
which the Defendant replied, “yeah, sure.” The Defendant opened the car and
the trunk for Troop er Norrod, who le aned into the trunk a nd the n prom ptly
arrested the Defendant. The time between the stop and the arrest was
approximately seven minutes.1
After argument of counsel, the trial court issued its ruling. The judge began
with the follow ing statem ent:
You know, I look at this case a little different I think than both
of you do.
First off, this patrolman is out there on the road pa trolling, to
see what’s going on, and he sees a vehicle, not that he’s violated
the law, but that he’s not driving like ev erybody else. He’s hugging
the right line. It’s not a random stop. It’s not just random looking for
somebody. Here is a car kind of acting a little strange.
Now, what’s he going to do? Let it go, or follow him until he
runs off the road or som ething or just investiga te it? He’s not
looking for any violations of the law, he’s just inve stigating it. Here ’s
a car that has not been doing just right, so he puts his blue lights on
and pulls him over to investigate.
1
We find no merit to the Defendant's argument that the duration of the stop was
excessive. It is only the initial stop of the Defendant's vehicle that we find to be an
unreasonable seizure.
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The trial judge then found that Trooper Norrod was justified in becoming
suspicious of the De fendan t after talking to the Defendant for a few minutes and
further found that the search was consensual. He stated, “I can’t see anything
in this case, Mr. Quillen, that I think makes this stop and the ultimate search of
the car even constitutional [sic] suspect” and denied the motion to suppress.
When reviewing the grant or denial of a motion to suppress,
[q]uestions of credibility of the witnesses, the weight and value of the
evidence, and resolution o f conflicts in the evidence are matters
entrusted to the trial judge as the trier of fact. The party prevailing
in the trial cour t is entitled to the stronge st legitimate view of the
evidence adduced at the suppres sion h earing as we ll as all
reaso nable and legitimate inferences that may be drawn from that
evidence. So long as the greater weight of the e vidence suppo rts
the trial cou rt’s findin gs, tho se find ings sh all be u pheld . In other
words, a trial court’s findings of fact in a suppression hearing will be
upheld unless the evidence preponderates otherwise.
State v. Odom, 928 S.W .2d 18, 23 (T enn. 1996 ). However, the application of the
law to the facts as found by the trial court is a question of law which the app ellate
court reviews de novo. State v. Yeargan, 958 S.W.2d 626, 629 (Tenn. 1997)
(citing Beare Co. v. Tennessee Dept. of Revenue, 858 S.W.2d 906, 907 (Tenn.
1993)). Becau se only T rooper N orrod tes tified at the suppression hearing, the
facts presented at the hearing are basically undisputed . The refore , only
question s of law are at issue b efore this C ourt.
The Fourth Amendm ent to the United States Constitution provides:
Unrea sona ble searches and seizures.–Th e right o f the pe ople to
be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unrea sona ble searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no
warran ts shall issue, but up on pro bable cause, supported by oath or
affirma tion, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and
the persons or things to be seized.
Similarly, Article I, § 7 of the Tennessee Constitution guarantees
that the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and
possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures; and that
general warrants, whereb y an officer m ay be co mm anded to search
suspected places, w ithout evide nce of the fact comm itted, or to
seize any person or persons not named, whose offences are not
particu larly described and supported by evidence, are dangerous to
liberty and ought not to be granted.
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The intent and purpose of the prohibition against unreasonable searches and
seizures found in the Tennessee Constitution has been found to be the same as
that found in th e Fourth Ame ndme nt to the Unite d States Constitu tion. State v.
Simpson, 968 S.W.2d 776, 779 (Tenn. 1998) (citing State v. Downey, 945
S.W.2d 102, 106 (Tenn. 1997); Sneed v. State , 423 S.W.2d 857, 860 (Tenn.
1968)). According to the Supreme Court, the purpose of the prohibition against
unrea sona ble searc hes a nd se izures in the Fo urth A men dme nt is to “safeguard
the privacy and security of individuals against arbitrary invasions of government
officials.” Cama ra v. Municipal Co urt, 387 U.S. 52 3, 528 (1967). The F ourth
Amendment protects people, not places, wherever they may have a “reaso nable
expectation of privacy.” Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 361 (1967) (Harlan,
J., concurring).
Under both the United States and Tennessee Constitutions, a search or
seizure condu cted witho ut a warrant is pre sume d unrea sonab le. Coolidge v.
New Hamp shire, 403 U.S . 443, 454 -55 (197 1); Simpson, 968 S.W.2d at 780;
State v. Watkins, 827 S.W .2d 293, 295 (Tenn. 1992). Therefore, evidence
seized as a result of a search or seizure conducted without a warrant must be
suppressed unless th at search or seizure was co nducte d pursu ant to one of the
recogn ized exce ptions to th e warran t requirem ent. Id.
One such exception to the warrant requirement is known as the autom obile
exception. In Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 13 2 (1925), the S upreme Court
held that police officers could search an automobile without a warrant if the
officers had probable cause to believe that the automobile contained contraband.
Carro ll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 149 (1925). Such a search is deemed
reasonable “because the vehicle can b e quickly move d out of the locality or
jurisdiction in which the warrant must be sought,” making it impractical to secure
a warrant before searching the autom obile. Id. at 153; see also Cham bers v.
Maroney, 399 U.S . 42, 51 (1970). In addition to the exigency created by the
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mobility of automobiles, the Supreme Court has upheld searches of automobiles
based in part on a notion that there is a “lesser expecta tion of p rivacy” in
automobiles. See California v. Carney, 471 U.S . 386 (19 85); Card well v. Lewis ,
417 U.S. 583 (1974). A four-justice plurality in Card well v. Le wis declared that
a person has a
lesser expectation of privacy in a motor vehicle because its function
is transportation and it seldom serves as one’s residence or the
repository of perso nal effects . A car has little capacity for escaping
public scrutiny. It travels public thorough fares where its occup ants
and its contents are in plain view.
Card well, 417 U.S. at 590. Eleven years later, in California v. Carney, a majo rity
of the Supre me C ourt expre ssly applie d both ra tionales to uphold the warrantless
search of a vehicle in a criminal investigation, explaining that persons have a
lesse r expe ctation of privac y in automob iles due “to the perva sive regulation of
vehicles capa ble of traveling on the public high ways.” Carney, 471 U.S. at 392.
W hile an individual in an automobile may have a “lesser expectation of
privacy,” that individual does not “lose all reasonable expectation of privacy”
when he or sh e enters that autom obile. See Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648,
662 (1979). As the Suprem e Court has state d, “[w]ere th e individua l subject to
unfettered governmental intrusion every time he entered an automobile, the
security guarantee d by the Fourth Ame ndm ent wo uld be seriou sly
circum scribed.” Id. at 662-63. This is why individualized susp icion is g enera lly
required before a n autom obile ma y be sea rched o r seized. See id. at 654-55 .
The stop of an automobile and the detention of its occupants constitutes
a seizure, even if the purpose of the stop is limited and the detention is brief.
Wren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 809-10; Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648,
563 (1979); United States v. M artinez-F uerte, 428 U.S. 54 3, 556-58 (19 76); State
v. Vineyard, 958 S.W.2d 730, 734 (Tenn. 1997). A police officer may stop or
“seize” an automob ile if the officer has probab le cause to be lieve that a criminal
offense has occurred or that a traffic violation has occ urred. Wren, 517 U.S. at
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810; Prouse, 440 U.S . at 655, 65 9; Vineyard, 958 S.W.2d at 734. If the officer
has probable ca use to believe that a violation of the traffic code has occurred, the
seizure will be upheld even if the sto p is a co mple te prete xt for the officer’s
subjective motivations in making the stop. Wren, 517 U.S. at 813-17 ; Vineyard,
958 S.W .2d at 734 -35.
In some circumstances, a police officer may also stop or “seize” an
individual in the absence of probable cause. In Terry v. Ohio , 392 U.S. 1, 30
(1968), the Su prem e Cou rt appr oved th e limited and tempo rary seizu re of a
person for questioning and for a “pat-down” for weapons if an officer has a
“reaso nable suspicion” that the person is armed a nd dange rous. The C ourt
assessed the reasonableness of the officer’s actions by “‘balancing the need to
search [or seize] against the invasion which the search [or seizure] entails.’” Id.
at 21 (quoting Cama ra v. Municipal Co urt, 387 U.S . 523, 534-35 (1967)). To
justify an intrusion into a person’s expectation of privacy, the officer must “point
to specific and articulable facts, which taken together with rational inferences
from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion.” Terry, 392 U.S. at 21. T his
limited Terry-type seizure doctrine has been expanded to allow limited and
temporary seizures of individuals for questioning if an officer has a reasonab le
suspicion that an individual has been involved in or is abo ut to be involve d in
criminal activity. See United S tates v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 880-81
(1975). Now, a p olice officer m ay seize a n autom obile and question its
occup ants if the offic er has reasonable suspicion, based on specific and
articula ble facts, that the occup ants have be en involved in or are about to be
involved in crimina l activity. Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 69 3 (1996);
Prouse, 440 U .S. at 663 ; State v. Simpson, 968 S.W .2d 776, 780 (Tenn. 199 8);
State v. Vineyard , 958 S.W .2d 730, 734 (Tenn. 199 7).
“Reasona ble suspicion” is an objective standard, to be determined by
looking at the totality of th e circum stance s. United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S.
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411, 417-18 (1981); Ornelas, 517 U.S. at 696; State v. Watkins, 827 S.W.2d 293,
294 (Tenn. 1992). The Supreme Court has stated that
[a]rticulating precisely what “reasonable susp icion” a nd “pro bable
cause” mean is not possible. Th ey are commonsense, nontechnical
conceptions that deal with “the factual and practical considerations
of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent men, not legal
technicia ns, act.”
Ornelas, 517 U.S. at 695 (quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 21 3, 132 (1983 )).
Relevant factors to consider include the officer’s personal observations,
information obtained from other police officers or agencies, information obtained
from citizens, and the pa ttern of operation of certain offe nders. Simpson, 968
S.W.2d at 783; Watkins, 827 S.W .2d at 294 ; Cortez, 449 U.S. at 41 8. A court
must also consider the rational inferences and deductions that a trained officer
may dr aw from the facts a nd circum stance s know n to him. Id.
In this case, the seizure of the Defendant’s car was based entirely on
Trooper Norro d’s pe rsona l observations. Trooper Norrod testified that the
Defendant passed another vehicle on Interstate 40 w ithout signaling befo re
changing lanes to pass or before returning to the right-hand lane, and that the
Defendant was driving on the white line after returning to the right-hand lane of
traffic. Trooper Norrod could not say that the Defendant created a hazard by
changing lanes without signaling or by driving on the white line. On the videotape
of the encounter between Officer Norrod and the Defendant, Officer Norrod tells
the Defendant that he “did not know if [the Defen dant] wa s drunk or sleepy .” The
videotape briefly sh ows th e Def enda nt’s car driving d own the road with no other
vehicles in the near vicinity. Thus, on the basis of these facts, we must
determine whether there was either probable cause or reas onab le suspicio n to
justify the seizure of the Defendant’s vehicle.
As previous ly stated, if an officer h as prob able cau se to belie ve that a
violation of the traffic code has occurred, the seizure will be upheld even if the
stop is a complete pretext for the officer’s subjective motivations in making the
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stop. W ren, 517 U .S. at 814 -17; Vineyard, 958 S.W .2d at 734 -35. Th e State
asserts that the Defendant made an “improper” lane change because he did not
signa l, yet we can find no auth ority for the pro position th at failing to give a signal
under the facts of this case constitutes a violation of the traffic code. The
relevant provision of the traffic code is as follows:
Turning movem ents. -- (a) No person shall turn a vehicle at an
intersection unless the vehicle is in proper position upon the
roadway as required in § 5 5-8-140, or turn a vehicle to enter a
private road or drivew ay, or otherwise turn a vehicle from a direct
course or move right or left upon a roadway, unles s and until such
movement can b e ma de with reaso nable safety. No person shall so
turn any vehicle without giving an appropriate signal in the manner
provided in §§ 55-8-143 and 55-8-144 in the event a ny othe r traffic
may be affected by such movement.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 5 5-8-142 (emph asis add ed). Very similarly, another provision
provides:
Every drive r who inte nds to start, stop or turn, or partly turn from a
direct line, shall first see that such movement can be mad e in safety,
and whenever the operation of any other vehicle may be affected by
such movement, shall give a signal required in this section, plainly
visible to the driver of such other vehicle of the intention to make
such m ovem ent.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-143(a ) (empha sis added). Thus, the only time a driver
must signal before changing lanes appears to be when th at change will affect
other vehicles.
Here, the Defendant changed lanes to pass another vehicle on a four-lane
divided highway withou t first giving a signal. We do not believe this is an unusual
occurrence. There was no evidence that any other vehicles, other than the
Defe ndan t’s vehicle and the vehicle the Defendant passed, were in the near
vicinity. This was certainly not a situation in which the Defendant was changing
lanes during rush hour or oth er time of high traffic flow, whe re almost eve ry
movement of every vehicle will likely affect the travel of other vehicles on the
road. The v ehicle the Defendant passed was traveling in the right-hand lane of
traffic, with the Defendant behind it. When the Defendant moved into the left-
hand lane, his lane change would not have affected the forward travel of the other
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car. Similarly, when the Defendant changed back into the right-hand lane, he
was in front of the other vehicle, so h is lane chang e would no t have affected the
movement of that car. That car would not have had to slow down, speed up, or
in any way alter its course due to the Defendant’s lane change. Therefore, the
Defendant did not violate a ny pro vision o f the traffic code by failing to signal, and
Trooper Norrod, by reason of his observ ations, did not have probab le cause to
believe that the Defendant violated a provision of the traffic code.
Similarly, Troop er Norro d did not h ave reas onable suspicio n to believe that
the Defendant was involved in or about to be involved in criminal activity, which
would have also justified the seizure. He appare ntly sugge sted to the Defendant
that he thought the Defendant might have been drunk or tired, b ut he in sisted in
the suppre ssion he aring tha t the only reason he stopped the Defendant was
because of an “improper” lane change. As already noted, the Defendant did not
violate any traffic provision by changing lanes without signaling. Making a
“lawful” lane change, which we equate somewhat to a “proper” lane change, as
described herein, could not give any officer reaso nable suspicion to believe that
an individu al is either drunk or tired. However, Trooper Norrod also testified that
the Defendant was driving on the white line after he returned to the right-hand
lane of traffic. Thus, we must determine whether driving on the white line after
making a lane change is a sufficient fact to warra nt reaso nable su spicion th at a
driver is either drunk or tired.
W e have previously considered the issue of reasonable suspicion in a
number of cases. For example, in State v. Carl Seaward Allen, C.C.A. No.
01C01-9707-CC-00272, 1998 WL 458177 (Tenn. Crim. App., Nashville, Aug. 7,
1998), a case involving this same police officer, Trooper Norrod testified that he
observed a vehicle change from the right to the left lane for no apparent reason
and then move back over into the right lane and cross the white line twice. He
turned on the video camera and recorded the vehicle twice veer over to the
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extreme right-hand side of the road across the white line. It was almos t midnigh t,
and Troo per N orrod notice d that th e vehic le bore Texas license plates . He sa id
that he thought the driver was either drowsy or under the influence of an
intoxicant. This C ourt uph eld the se izure, con cluding th at “given the time of nig ht,
crossing the fog line three times, and the distance from which the vehicle had
come, Officer N orrod ha d caus e to stop A ppelle e’s vehicle.” Id. at *3. In State
v. George Wesley Harville, C.C.A. No. 01-C-01-9607-CC-0030, 1997 WL 661726
(Tenn. Crim. App., Nashville, Oct. 24, 1997), we found the presence of
reaso nable suspicion when the officer observed a vehicle make a wide right turn
which resulted in the vehicle crossing the center line into the opposing lane of
traffic, causing another vehicle in the o ppos ing lan e to ho nk its ho rn. Th e vehic le
then began weaving within its lane of traffic and was “riding” the center line at
times. In State v. Ran dall L. M cFarlin , C.C.A. No. 01C01-9406-PB-00202, 1995
W L 353776 (Tenn. Crim. App. June 13, 1995), we found reasonable suspicion
when a vehic le was ob served w eaving b ack an d forth from one lane to the other
and across the center line of a highway and hitting a curb while making a sharp
right turn. Recently, we fou nd rea sona ble su spicio n whe n a veh icle was weaving
within its own lane of traffic, approaching the dividing line a number of times, and
touching the cente r line at least tw ice. State v. Guy Bin ette, C.C.A. No. 03C01-
9802-CR-00075, 1999 WL 42760 6 (Ten n. Crim. A pp., Knoxville, June 28 , 1999).
In all of these cases, there w as evid ence of som e type o f erratic driving or
weaving while driving, which could certainly be indicators of possible intoxication.
The only evide nce he re is that the Defen dant drove on the white line after
returning to the right lane of traffic. There was no evidence that the Defendant
moved out of his lane. There was no evidence that the Defendant was driving
erratically, weaving, or otherwise causing a hazard to other vehicles. Trooper
Norrod specifically stated at the suppression hearing that he stopped the
Defendant for an improper lane change and for no other reason, indicating that
he did not necessarily conclude the driving on the white line was of particular
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significance. Driving on the white line might warrant an officer in further
observation of a vehicle, but standing alone, it is not a sufficie nt and articula ble
fact to warrant the finding of reasonable suspicion to stop an autom obile. We are
reluctant to conclu de that a p erson d riving in a m anner th at an officer deems
“improper,” when the driving is not erratic or haphazard and does not create a
dangerous situation, is subject to seizure while proceeding along a highway in a
lawful manner. Only the hypothetical “perfect driver” would not be subject to
seizure if we were to hold that minor driving “errors,” which neither violate our
traffic code nor create a hazard , indicate tha t a perso n migh t be intoxica ted. W e
are not willing to ignore the guarantees of the Fourth Amendment and in directly
hold that “[t]he wo rd 'autom obile' is . . . a talism an in whose presen ce the F ourth
Amendment fades away and disappe ars.” See Coolidge v. N ew Ham pshire, 403
U.S. 443, 461-62 (19 71). According ly, we must revers e the order of the trial court
overruling the motion to suppress, vacate the Defendant's convictions, and
remand the case to the trial court for dismissal of the charges.
____________________________________
DAVID H. WELLES, JUDGE
CONCUR:
___________________________________
JOHN H. PEAY, JUDGE
___________________________________
JOHN EVERETT WILLIAMS, JUDGE
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