COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Petty, Chafin and Decker
PUBLISHED
Argued at Norfolk, Virginia
GEORGE LEE HAWKINS
OPINION BY
v. Record No. 1270-14-1 JUDGE TERESA M. CHAFIN
AUGUST 4, 2015
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF NORFOLK
John R. Doyle, III, Judge
Griffin M. O’Hanlon (Korslund & Korslund, P.C., on brief), for
appellant.
Kathleen B. Martin, Senior Assistant Attorney General (Mark R.
Herring, Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.
George Lee Hawkins was convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in
violation of Code § 18.2-308.2. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred by denying his
motion to suppress the firearm found on his person. Hawkins argues that the trial court
erroneously concluded that he consented to the search in question and that the police officer who
performed the search “exceeded the scope of a Terry1 stop [by conducting] a search of the
defendant’s person rather than a protective frisk.” For the reasons that follow, we affirm
Hawkins’s conviction.
I. BACKGROUND
“When reviewing a denial of a suppression motion, we review the evidence ‘in the light
most favorable to the Commonwealth, giving it the benefit of any reasonable inferences.’”
Elliott v. Commonwealth, 61 Va. App. 48, 51, 733 S.E.2d 146, 148 (2012) (quoting Glenn v.
1
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968).
Commonwealth, 49 Va. App. 413, 416, 642 S.E.2d 282, 283 (2007) (en banc), aff’d, 275 Va.
123, 654 S.E.2d 910 (2008)). So viewed, the evidence established that Chesapeake Police
Officer Barret C. Ring observed a suspected hand-to-hand drug transaction in an area known as a
high crime, open-air drug market shortly after midnight on February 28, 2013.2 Ring saw
Hawkins and another man standing in the street facing a third individual who was later identified
as “Hamilton.” Hawkins’s companion completed a hand-to-hand exchange with Hamilton while
Hawkins stood nearby. Hamilton then got in the passenger seat of a car waiting across the street,
and the car left the area.
Officer Ring stopped the car for a traffic violation at an intersection located within a
block of where the exchange occurred.3 When Ring stopped the car, its driver dropped drug
paraphernalia and Ring found “multiple quantities of suspected cocaine” when he searched
Hamilton following his arrest. Norfolk police officers arrived at the scene shortly after Officer
Ring stopped the car. Officer Ring informed the officers of the hand-to-hand exchange and
directed their attention to Hawkins and his companion, who were standing across the street.
Five Norfolk police officers arrived at the scene and approached Hawkins and the other
man. The officers asked the men for their identification, and asked them questions about what
they were doing on the street that night. The officers did not, however, mention the traffic stop
or the narcotics investigation that was being conducted across the street by the Chesapeake
police. One of the officers described the tone of the conversation as “completely casual,” and he
testified that the officers only intended to identify the men for later investigation. Although there
2
Although the transaction occurred within the City of Norfolk, it occurred near that city’s
limits, “well within three hundred yards” of the City of Chesapeake.
3
This stop occurred within the City of Chesapeake.
-2-
were five officers present, they were not positioned so as to block either Hawkins or his
companion from leaving the area.
During the conversation between the officers and the two men, Officer R.A. Mazzio saw
a bulge under Hawkins’s shirt. He asked Hawkins if he had “a big cell phone on [his] belt,” and
then asked him if he “could do him a favor” by raising his “shirt up a little bit so [Mazzio could]
see how it sits.” Mazzio testified that his tone was congenial and even joking during this
interaction and that he did not instruct or command Hawkins to raise his shirt.
In response to Mazzio’s request, Hawkins extended his arms completely out to his sides
and raised them about halfway up to his shoulders with his palms facing the officers. Hawkins
did not say anything or make any other movements for approximately five seconds. After
several seconds, an officer lifted the tail of Hawkins’s shirt and revealed the handle of a handgun
tucked into his waistband. The officers confiscated the firearm, and Hawkins was arrested for
possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Officer S.A. Bartley took a statement from Hawkins
following his arrest. Bartley testified that Hawkins told him that he did not initially tell the
officers that he had a weapon because he did not want to startle them, but that he “came around
and showed the officers that he . . . was indeed wearing a firearm.”
Hawkins moved to suppress the evidence obtained by the officers on February 28, 2013,
arguing that he did not consent to a search (specifically, the lifting of his shirt by the officers)
and that the officers’ actions exceeded the scope of a search permissible under Terry. The trial
court denied his motion. The trial court concluded that Hawkins consented to the search through
his actions on the night in question. Additionally, the trial court noted that reasonable suspicion
would have supported a Terry frisk for weapons under the circumstances and elaborated on the
specific facts of the case that would have given rise to that reasonable suspicion. The trial court,
however, expressly held that a Terry stop had not occurred in the present case. The trial court
-3-
concluded that the interaction between Hawkins and the officers was consensual and that
Hawkins consented to the lifting of his shirt during that interaction. Hawkins entered a
conditional guilty plea after the trial court denied his motion to suppress, and this appeal
followed.
II. ANALYSIS
In reviewing a trial court’s denial of a motion to suppress, “we determine whether the
accused has met his [or her] burden to show that the trial court’s ruling, when the evidence is
viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, was reversible error.” Roberts v.
Commonwealth, 55 Va. App. 146, 150, 684 S.E.2d 824, 826 (2009). This Court is “bound by the
trial court’s findings of historical fact unless ‘plainly wrong’ or without evidence to support them
and we give due weight to the inferences drawn from those facts by resident judges and local law
enforcement officers.” McGee v. Commonwealth, 25 Va. App. 193, 198, 487 S.E.2d 259, 261
(1997) (en banc). “However, we consider de novo whether those facts implicate the Fourth
Amendment and, if so, whether the officers unlawfully infringed upon an area protected by the
Fourth Amendment.” Hughes v. Commonwealth, 31 Va. App. 447, 454, 524 S.E.2d 155, 159
(2000) (en banc) (citing McGee, 25 Va. App. at 198, 487 S.E.2d at 261).
On appeal, Hawkins’s argument focuses primarily on the scope of the search in question.
Hawkins contends that the police officer conducting the search exceeded the scope of Terry by
lifting his shirt before he performed a weapons frisk. The trial court, however, held that
Hawkins consented to the search. While the trial court explained that the officers could have
performed a weapons frisk under Terry, it expressly held that a Terry stop and weapons frisk did
not occur. Accordingly, we analyze whether the trial court erred by concluding Hawkins
consented to the search without addressing whether or not the officer’s actions exceeded the
scope of a weapons frisk permissible under Terry.
-4-
“As a general rule, ‘a search authorized by consent is wholly valid.’” Kyer v.
Commonwealth, 45 Va. App. 473, 483, 612 S.E.2d 213, 218 (2005) (en banc) (quoting
Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 222 (1973)). “Where consent is freely and voluntarily
given, probable cause and a search warrant are not required.” Limonja v. Commonwealth, 8
Va. App. 532, 540, 383 S.E.2d 476, 481 (1989). “The presence of consent is a factual question
to be determined by the trier of fact” based on the totality of the circumstances, and we reverse a
trial court’s decision regarding the presence of consent only when it is plainly wrong.
Jean-Laurent v. Commonwealth, 34 Va. App. 74, 79, 538 S.E.2d 316, 318 (2000).
“‘Consent to a search . . . must be unequivocal, specific and intelligently given . . . and it
is not lightly to be inferred.’” Id. at 78, 538 S.E.2d at 318 (quoting Elliotte v. Commonwealth, 7
Va. App. 234, 239, 372 S.E.2d 416, 419 (1988)). Consent, however, may be evidenced by
conduct alone. “Courts have found consent to a specific request to search a person when
evidenced by conduct alone, such as turning and ‘placing one’s hands against the wall without
prompting,’ or shrugging one’s shoulders and then extending one’s arms.” Id. at 79, 538 S.E.2d
at 318 (emphasis omitted) (quoting Bynum v. Commonwealth, 23 Va. App. 412, 417, 477 S.E.2d
750, 753 (1996)). Nevertheless, an appellant’s mere acquiescence to a search is inadequate to
establish that he or she voluntarily consented to it, and the Commonwealth bears a heavier
burden “‘where the alleged consent is based on an implication.’” Id. at 78-79, 538 S.E.2d at 318
(quoting Walls v. Commonwealth, 2 Va. App. 639, 645, 347 S.E.2d 175, 178 (1986)).
When we review the evidence of the present case under our established standard of
review, we conclude that the trial court did not err by denying Hawkins’s motion to suppress.
The trial court’s conclusion that Hawkins consented to the search was supported by the evidence
of the case and was not plainly wrong.
-5-
On appeal, Hawkins concedes that his initial interaction with the police was consensual.4
The Norfolk officers approached Hawkins and his companion to identify them for further
investigation, and they did not place them under arrest or otherwise detain them against their
will. The officers testified that their tone during this interaction was “completely casual” and
even joking. Although five officers were present, they were not positioned in a way that blocked
Hawkins from leaving the area and they did not mention the narcotics investigation being
conducted by the Chesapeake police across the street. Although the trial court noted that the
officers could have conducted a Terry stop under the circumstances, the officers chose to have a
less invasive, consensual encounter with Hawkins and his companion.
During the course of this encounter, Officer Mazzio noticed a bulge under Hawkins’s
shirt. Rather than pat Hawkins down, Mazzio asked Hawkins if he “could do him a favor” and
lift his shirt. Importantly, Mazzio asked Hawkins if he would lift his shirt; he did not order him
to do so. In response to this request, Hawkins raised his arms about halfway up to his shoulders
with his palms facing the officers and held them in that position for several seconds. When an
officer eventually lifted Hawkins’s shirt, Hawkins did not tell him to stop or otherwise resist the
search.
We conclude that Hawkins’s non-verbal response to Mazzio’s request invited the officers
to lift his shirt.5 Like an appellant who places his or her hands on a wall in response to an
4
Although we are generally precluded from accepting concessions of law made on
appeal, see Copeland v. Commonwealth, 52 Va. App. 529, 531-32, 664 S.E.2d 528, 529 (2008),
we agree with Hawkins’s concession based on our independent review of the record.
5
The Fourth Circuit reached a similar conclusion based on comparable conduct in United
States v. Wilson, 895 F.2d 168 (4th Cir. 1990). Likewise, this Court has reached similar
conclusions in two unpublished opinions, Graham v. Commonwealth, No. 0281-04-3, 2005
Va. App. LEXIS 287 (Va. Ct. App. July 18, 2005), and Baker v. Commonwealth, No. 1311-03-2,
2004 Va. App. LEXIS 222 (Va. Ct. App. May 11, 2004). While these unpublished decisions
have no precedential value, we cite them here as informative decisions pursuant to Rule 5A:1(f).
-6-
officer’s request to perform a search, Hawkins assumed a common “frisk stance” that implied
that he consented to the search. The officers reasonably inferred that Hawkins agreed to allow
them to lift his shirt, and he did nothing to indicate that he objected to their actions. See Florida
v. Jimeno, 500 U.S. 248, 250-51 (1991) (“The touchstone of the Fourth Amendment is
reasonableness . . . [and t]he standard for measuring the scope of a suspect’s consent under the
Fourth Amendment is that of ‘objective’ reasonableness -- what would the typical reasonable
person have understood by the exchange between the officer and the suspect?”).
The trial court’s conclusion that Hawkins consented to the search, however, was based on
more than his mere physical conduct. After his arrest, Hawkins told the police that he eventually
“came around and showed the officers that he . . . was indeed wearing a firearm.” This statement
implied that Hawkins made a conscious decision to show the police the weapon, and therefore,
implied that he actually consented to the search.
In the present case, the evidence established that Hawkins voluntarily consented to
Mazzio’s request to lift his shirt. During a consensual encounter, Mazzio asked Hawkins if he
would lift his shirt and Hawkins responded to this request by assuming a position commonly
associated with weapons frisks that implied his consent. Furthermore, the statements Hawkins
made to the police officers following his arrest implied that he consented to the search.
Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court did not err by determining that Hawkins consented
-7-
to the search and denying his motion to suppress on that basis.6 Therefore, we affirm Hawkins’s
conviction.
Affirmed.
6
As we conclude that the trial court did not err by deciding that Hawkins consented to
the search, applying the “right result, wrong reason” principle to reach the substance of
Hawkins’s argument concerning the scope of the Terry frisk is inappropriate. The trial court’s
decision based on consent was correct, and accordingly, there is no “wrong reason” underlying it
that would require us to examine alternate grounds that may support the decision.
-8-
Petty, J., concurring.
I concur in the judgment of the Court. However, given the findings of fact made by the
trial court, the legal concessions made by Hawkins, the specific wording of the assignment of
error,7 and the legal principles involved, I find it unnecessary to reach the question of whether
Hawkins consented to the search. I agree with the trial court that Hawkins was detained based
on a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and that the officers had a reasonable suspicion
that he might be armed. Therefore, I would hold that the officers were justified in lifting his shirt
to confirm or dispel their suspicions and, thus, the search was reasonable irrespective of whether
Hawkins consented to the search.
Here, the trial court analyzed the stop as a consensual encounter. The court found that
“while [the officers] could have conducted a Terry stop and had a more invasive interaction with
the defendant, they chose to engage him in conversation.” The court further found that when
Officer Mazzio “walk[ed] up and he [saw] the bulge . . . he could have patted [Hawkins] down to
find out what that was, given everything that had gone on, but that wasn’t his approach.” During
the encounter, Hawkins “decid[ed] to let them see what this bulge was, as he himself later
admitted that’s what he decided to do and what he did do.” Thus the court found as fact that
although “the officers would have reasonable articulable suspicion based on the observations of
the Chesapeake police officer to have conducted a Terry stop,” they chose to handle the
encounter as a consensual one.
7
The assignment of error reads:
The trial court erred in denying the motion to suppress
evidence seized as the result of a police officer searching the
defendant’s person because the police officer exceeded the scope
of a Terry stop in that he conducted a search of the defendant’s
person rather than a protective frisk.
-9-
On brief and at oral argument, Hawkins concedes that there was sufficient articulable
suspicion to support a detention pursuant to Terry and that the officers had a reasonable
suspicion that Hawkins might be armed. Moreover, he concedes that a police officer would have
been justified in frisking him, and in lifting his shirt after the frisk if the officer had felt the
handle of his handgun.8 Hawkins argues, however, that because the officer lifted his shirt and
exposed the handgun before frisking him, the search “exceeded the scope of a Terry stop in that
[the officer] conducted a search of the defendant’s person rather than a protective frisk.”
Hawkins contends that a frisk is a “limited protective search [that] is an intermediate police
investigatory tool between mere questioning and a full, custodial search.” Appellant’s Br. at 8.
Hawkins argues that “Officer Aaron ignored the authorized intermediate tool of a protective
frisk, which he may have been justified in utilizing, and instead conducted a search of
[Hawkins’s] person,” thereby exceeding the scope of a Terry stop. Id. Hawkins thereby
implicitly asks us to hold first that there was a Terry stop, and then to conclude that because the
officer did not pat Hawkins down before lifting his shirt, the search was impermissible. I agree
with Hawkins that the officers were justified in detaining him; however, I disagree that the
search exceeded the scope authorized by Terry.
THE EVIDENCE SUPPORTS A LAWFUL INVESTIGATORY STOP AND PROTECTIVE SEARCH
A police officer may detain a person “if the officer possesses a reasonable suspicion,
based on articulable facts, that the individual is or is about to be engaged in criminal activity.”
Gregory v. Commonwealth, 22 Va. App. 100, 105, 468 S.E.2d 117, 120 (1996). “‘There are no
8
As the majority notes, “‘[o]ur fidelity to the uniform application of law precludes us
from accepting concessions of law made on appeal.’” Copeland v. Commonwealth, 52 Va. App.
529, 531-32, 664 S.E.2d 528, 529 (2008) (quoting Logan v. Commonwealth, 47 Va. App. 168,
172, 622 S.E.2d 771, 773 (2005) (en banc)). However, in this case the findings of the trial court
as well as my independent review of the record support my conclusion that Hawkins’s
concessions are well taken.
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bright line rules to follow when determining whether a reasonable and articulable suspicion
exists to justify an investigatory stop. Instead, the courts must consider the totality of the
circumstances—the whole picture.’” Reel v. Commonwealth, 31 Va. App. 262, 266, 522 S.E.2d
881, 883 (2000) (quoting Hoye v. Commonwealth, 18 Va. App. 132, 135, 442 S.E.2d 404, 406
(1994)). “Further, the Fourth Amendment requires only that an objectively reasonable basis
exist for a search.” Logan v. Commonwealth, 29 Va. App. 353, 359, 512 S.E.2d 160, 163
(1999). “‘That the officer does not have the state of mind which is hypothecated by the reasons
which provide the legal justification for the officer’s action does not invalidate the action taken
as long as [all] the circumstances, viewed objectively, justify that action.’” Id. (quoting Whren
v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 812-13 (1996)) (alteration in original).
Here, the trial court analyzed the permissibility of the search in the context of consent
because the officers chose to handle the encounter as a consensual one. However, an officer’s
choice to frame an encounter as a consensual one does not invalidate an investigatory detention
as long as all the circumstances, viewed objectively, justify that action. See id. There is no
dispute here, based on Hawkins’s concession and the trial court’s explicit findings, that there was
reasonable and articulable suspicion to justify a detention. The court specifically found that the
Chesapeake officer’s identification of Hawkins as a participant in the drug deal provided
articulable suspicion that Hawkins was involved in a crime. The Chesapeake officer saw
Hawkins standing six inches away from an individual who was involved in a drug deal with the
passenger of a BMW. The Chesapeake officer alertly noticed that Hawkins and another
individual had moved from the location of the drug transaction to the street corner across the
street from where the Chesapeake officer was arresting the other party to the transaction. After
stopping the BMW and finding drugs during a search incident to arrest, the Chesapeake officer
pointed Hawkins out as a suspect to the Norfolk officers. It was based on these facts, explicitly
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enumerated by the trial court, that the court found sufficient evidence to support a Terry stop. I
agree with the trial court that the officers had reasonable suspicion to detain and question
Hawkins.
Similarly, the officers’ choice to treat the search as one conducted with consent does not
invalidate the lawfulness of a protective search pursuant to Terry as long as all the
circumstances, viewed objectively, justify that action. “During an investigative stop authorized
under Terry, an officer may conduct a limited search for concealed weapons if the officer
reasonably believes that a criminal suspect may be armed and dangerous.” Murphy v.
Commonwealth, 264 Va. 568, 573, 570 S.E.2d 836, 839 (2002) (emphasis added). “The purpose
of this ‘pat down’ search is not to uncover evidence of criminal activity, but to permit the officer
to conduct his investigation without encountering a violent response.” Id. at 573-74, 570 S.E.2d
at 839.
The circumstances that a court can consider when determining
whether an officer had reasonable, articulable suspicion to believe
an individual was armed “include characteristics of the area
surrounding the stop, the time of the stop, the specific conduct of
the suspect individual, the character of the offense under suspicion,
and the unique perspective of a police officer trained and
experienced in the detection of crime.”
Roberts v. Commonwealth, 55 Va. App. 146, 153, 684 S.E.2d 824, 827 (2009) (quoting McCain
v. Commonwealth, 275 Va. 546, 554, 659 S.E.2d 512, 517 (2008)). However, even in a “high
crime, high drug area,” a protective search requires that an officer have articulable suspicion to
believe an individual is armed. Id. at 155, 684 S.E.2d at 828.
The justification for a search in these circumstances “is the protection of the police
officer and others nearby, and it must therefore be confined in scope to an intrusion reasonably
designed to discover guns, knives, clubs or other hidden instruments for the assault of the police
officer.” Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 29 (1968). In order to take this protective step, an officer
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need not be certain that the individual is armed. Rather “the issue is whether a reasonably
prudent man in the circumstances would be warranted in the belief that his safety or that of
others was in danger.” Id. at 27.
Here, as Officer Mazzio approached Hawkins, he performed what amounted to a “visual
patdown” when he “visually looked down, up and down [Hawkins’s body].” As a result of this,
Officer Mazzio noticed the bulge which “could have been a weapon” and which, based on his
experience, caused him concern for his safety and the safety of those around him.
When an officer is justified in believing that the individual whose
suspicious behavior he is investigating at close range is armed and
presently dangerous to the officer or to others, it would appear to
be clearly unreasonable to deny the officer the power to take
necessary measures to determine whether the person is in fact
carrying a weapon and to neutralize the threat of physical harm.
Id. at 24.9 Notably, Terry authorizes “necessary measures” to determine whether the person is
armed, rather than authorizing a pat down only.
The Norfolk officers were in a “high crime, high drug area” known for “firearm-related
offenses and calls violent in nature.” It was the middle of the night. The officers were aware
that a Chesapeake officer was in the process of making a drug arrest and that he had implicated
Hawkins in the drug transaction. See Bandy v. Commonwealth, 52 Va. App. 510, 518, 664
S.E.2d 519, 523 (2008) (“Courts have often recognized that ‘the connection between illegal drug
operations and guns is a tight one.’” (quoting Jones v. Commonwealth, 272 Va. 692, 701 n.3,
636 S.E.2d 403, 407 n.3 (2006))). One of the officers visually observed a bulge at Hawkins’s
9
As one officer testified when explaining his motivation in raising a suspect’s shirt
during a Terry stop, “Sir, I like to go home with the same amount of holes that I leave the house
[with]; and if that individual has a weapon and they might do harm to me, I would like to know it
beforehand.” United States v. Motley, No. 2:13-cr-20373-SHL, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81964,
at *7 (W.D. Tenn. June 17, 2014).
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waist that he suspected could be a weapon and that caused him concern for his safety.10 “[A]
reasonably prudent man in [these] circumstances would be warranted in the belief that his safety
or that of others was in danger.” Terry, 392 U.S. at 27.
A PRELIMINARY PAT DOWN WAS NOT REQUIRED IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES
Hawkins’s argument is premised on the belief that the only search authorized by Terry is
a tactile pat down of the defendant’s outer clothing. While that may be true in cases where there
is no readily apparent indication that a suspect possesses a weapon, I do not believe a police
officer is required to touch the object his eyes have already detected in order to confirm or dispel
his suspicion the suspect is armed. In approving the limited pat-down search in Terry, the United
States Supreme Court recognized that the limitations which the Fourth Amendment places upon
a protective search for weapons “will have to be developed in the concrete factual circumstance
of individual cases.” Id. at 29. Several federal circuit courts of appeal have developed the limits
of protective searches where a visible bulge is present before any pat down is performed.
In United States v. Baker, 78 F.3d 135, 136 (4th Cir. 1996), an officer made a traffic stop
at about 1:20 a.m. The officer saw a bulge underneath the front of the suspect’s shirt that could
have been a weapon. Id. “In order to determine whether [the suspect] was carrying a concealed
weapon, [the officer] ordered [the suspect] to lift his shirt above the bulge.” Id. When the
suspect complied, a handgun was revealed. Id. The trial court granted the motion to suppress
the handgun, reasoning that the officer “had no justification to reasonably believe the suspect
10
The fact that the officer told Hawkins that he thought the bulge might be a cell phone is
not relevant to the analysis. See Mason v. Commonwealth, 64 Va. App. 292, 302, 767 S.E.2d
726, 732 (2015) (en banc) (“Because courts ‘do not examine the subjective understanding of the
particular officer involved,’ Heien v. North Carolina, 135 S. Ct. 530, 539 (2014), it necessarily
follows that, when deciding a suppression motion, a court should not limit itself ‘to what the
stopping officer says or to evidence of his subjective rationale,’ Raab v. Commonwealth, 50
Va. App. 577, 583 n.2, 652 S.E.2d 144, 148 n.2 (2007) (en banc).”).
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was armed and dangerous and that even if the officer reasonably could have formed such a
belief, he should have conducted a ‘patdown frisk’ instead of directing [the suspect] to raise his
shirt.” Id. at 137.
The Fourth Circuit reversed the trial court’s conclusions on both issues. The Fourth
Circuit reasoned that “a bulge that could be made by a weapon in a suspect’s clothing reasonably
warrants a belief that the suspect is potentially dangerous, even if the suspect was stopped only
for a minor violation.” Id.; see also Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106, 111-12 (1977) (per
curiam) (holding that a bulge in the jacket of appellant was sufficient to conclude appellant
might be armed and pose a serious danger). Further, the Fourth Circuit held that “the [trial] court
erroneously concluded that a patdown frisk was the only permissible method of conducting a
Terry search.” Baker, 78 F.3d at 138. Rather, “the reasonableness of a protective search
depends on the factual circumstances of each case.” Id. (citing Terry, 392 U.S. at 29). The
Fourth Circuit noted that the raising of the shirt “was less intrusive than the patdown frisk
sanctioned in Terry,” and was therefore within the permissible scope of a Terry stop. Id.
Similarly, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the lifting of a shirt was a
permissible search within the scope of a Terry stop. United States v. Hill, 545 F.2d 1191, 1193
(9th Cir. 1976). In Hill, an officer stopped an individual who was passing by the scene of a
recent armed robbery and asked him if he had seen anyone running by. Id. at 1192. The officer
did not suspect the individual of being the robber. Id. During the conversation, the officer
“noticed a large bulge at [the individual’s] waistband which he suspected of being caused by a
weapon.” Id. “The officer raised [the individual’s] shirt which was hanging outside his trousers,
thus exposing his waistband and revealing” money stolen during the robbery. Id. at 1192-93.
The Ninth Circuit upheld the search as reasonable, finding “that the lifting by the officer
of [the individual’s] shirt was not, under the circumstances, overly intrusive.” Id. at 1193. The
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court reasoned that “the officer’s investigation was wholly confined to the area of the bulge in
question and was a direct and specific inquiry. As such it did not transcend the permissible
bounds established by Terry.” Id. The court concluded, “Terry does not in terms limit a
weapons search to a so-called ‘pat down’ search. Any limited intrusion designed to discover
guns, knives, clubs or other instruments of assault [is] permissible. The raising of the shirt in the
instant case is well within the boundaries established by Terry.” Id.; see also United States v.
Reyes, 349 F.3d 219, 225 (5th Cir. 2003) (holding that a request that suspect lift his shirt is less
obtrusive than a pat-down search and therefore permissible under Terry).
In summary, “a patdown frisk is but one example of how a reasonable protective search
may be conducted.” Baker, 78 F.3d at 138; see United States v. Casado, 303 F.3d 440, 449 n.5
(2d Cir. 2002) (“[W]e agree with the general principle that a patdown is not the only type of
search authorized by Terry, and that there are circumstances in which a patdown is not
required.”); Hill, 545 F.2d at 1193 (“Terry does not in terms limit a weapons search to a
so-called ‘patdown’ search. Any limited intrusion designed to discover guns, knives, clubs or
other instruments of assault [is] permissible.”). The search, however conducted, must be
confined strictly to what is minimally necessary to learn whether an individual is armed and to
disarm him once a weapon is discovered. Terry, 392 U.S. at 30; see also Adams v. Williams,
407 U.S. 143, 148 (1972) (holding that it was reasonable within the scope of Terry for an officer
relying on a tip to reach into a car and remove a handgun from suspect’s waistband even though
the gun was not visible to the officer). Simply put, the reasonableness requirement found in the
Fourth Amendment does not require a police officer to take the unnecessary, and potentially
dangerous, step of performing a pat down to confirm what he has already discovered visually —
that a suspect may very well be armed and dangerous.
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Here, as in Terry, the officer “confined his search strictly to what was minimally
necessary to learn whether [Hawkins was] armed and to disarm [him] once he discovered the
weapon[].” Terry, 392 U.S. at 30. Here, as in Baker, the raising of the shirt “was less intrusive
than [a] patdown frisk.” 78 F.3d at 138. Here, as in Hill, “the officer’s investigation was wholly
confined to the area of the bulge in question and was a direct and specific inquiry [and a]s such it
did not transcend the permissible bounds established by Terry.” Hill, 545 F.2d at 1193.
Therefore, I would hold that when a visual observation of an individual indicates a bulge
in the individual’s clothing sufficient to warrant a belief that the bulge may well be caused by a
concealed weapon, a lifting of the clothing in the area of the bulge without a prior tactile pat
down is within the permissible scope of a Terry search.
RIGHT RESULT, DIFFERENT REASON
“‘[A]n appellate court may affirm the judgment of a trial court when it has reached the
right result for the wrong reason.’”11 Debroux v. Commonwealth, 32 Va. App. 364, 371-72, 528
11
While Virginia courts often style this principle as “right result, wrong reason,” the
ignored reason need not necessarily be wrong. An appellate court’s authority to affirm a trial
court’s judgment on grounds other than those relied upon by the trial court is widely accepted.
See e.g., Quackenbush v. Allstate Ins. Co., 517 U.S. 706, 711 (1996) (“affirm[ing] on grounds
different from those provided by the Ninth Circuit”); Seremeth v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs
Frederick Cnty, 673 F.3d 333, 337 n.2 (4th Cir. 2012) (“[W]e may affirm a [trial] court’s
decision on different grounds than those employed by the [trial] court[.]”); Jordan v. Travelers
Ins. Co., 245 So. 2d 151, 153 n.2 (La. 1971) (“[T]he appellate court may affirm on grounds
different than those argued before or relied upon by the lower court.”); Schmehl v. Helton, 662
S.E.2d 697, 705 n.7 (W. Va. 2008) (“[T]his Court may in any event affirm the circuit court on
any proper basis, whether relied upon by the circuit court or not.”).
The principle is sometimes referred to as the more colorful “tipsy coachman” doctrine.
See, e.g., Robertson v. State, 829 So. 2d 901, 906 (Fla. 2002) (analyzing “[t]his long-standing
principle of appellate law, sometimes referred to as the ‘tipsy coachman’ doctrine”). Georgia
Supreme Court Justice Bleckley quoted Oliver Goldsmith’s 1774 poem, Retaliation, to illustrate
the concept.
“It may be that we would draw very different inferences [from
those drawn by the trial court], and these differences might go to
uphold the judgment; for many steps in the reasoning of the court
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S.E.2d 151, 155 (quoting Driscoll v. Commonwealth, 14 Va. App. 449, 452, 417 S.E.2d 312, 313
(1992)), aff’d en banc, 34 Va. App. 72, 537 S.E.2d 630 (2000). This doctrine does not apply
“where, because the trial court has rejected the right reason or confined its decision to a specific
ground, further factual resolution is needed before the right reason may be assigned to support
the trial court’s decision.” Driscoll, 14 Va. App. at 452, 417 S.E.2d at 313-14.
Here, the trial court addressed the permissibility of a Terry stop and a protective search.
The court expressly found that the officers had articulable suspicion to detain Hawkins and that
the officer “could have patted [Hawkins] down to find out what [the bulge] was.” The trial court
enumerated specific facts from the testimony at trial to sufficiently support a lawful detention
and search. No further factual resolution is needed in this case to affirm the trial court’s decision
on the alternate ground. Therefore, consistent with Driscoll, I would affirm on the alternate
ground and respond to the specific assignment of error by holding that the lifting of Hawkins’s
shirt did not exceed the scope of a Terry stop.
Accordingly, for the reasons expressed, I would affirm the conviction.
below might be defective, and still its ultimate conclusion be
correct. It not infrequently happens that a judgment is affirmed
upon a theory of the case which did not occur to the court that
rendered it, or which did occur and was expressly repudiated. The
human mind is so constituted that in many instances it finds the
truth when wholly unable to find the way that leads to it.
‘The pupil of impulse, it forc’d him along,
His conduct still right, with his argument wrong;
Still aiming at honor, yet fearing to roam,
The coachman was tipsy, the chariot drove home.’”
Hall v. Va. Empl. Comm’n & Process Mgmt. Techs., Inc., No. 1876-12-3, 2013 Va. App. LEXIS
187, at *8 n.3 (Va. Ct. App. June 18, 2013) (quoting Lee v. Porter, 63 Ga. 345, 346 (1879)).
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