State v. Linghor

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed Matthew Linghor’s conviction for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. The court held that officers had probable cause to arrest Linghor and that the search of his person was valid as incident to arrest; it also held that retrial after a hung jury and mistrial did not violate double jeopardy.

Holdings

1. The officers had probable cause to arrest Linghor before the pocket search, and the circumstances objectively established that he was under arrest by the time of the search. The search was therefore valid as a search incident to arrest.
2. Retrial did not violate double jeopardy because the trial court acted within its discretion, based on manifest necessity and the ends of public justice, in declaring a mistrial after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the search of Linghor's person and seizure of the Wal-Mart receipt violated the Fourth Amendment or Article I, section 8 of the North Dakota Constitution because officers lacked probable cause to arrest him before the search.
2. Whether Linghor's statements concerning the Wal-Mart receipt were fruits of an unlawful search.
3. Whether retrial after the first jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict and the trial court declared a mistrial violated the constitutional and statutory prohibitions against double jeopardy.

Disposition

affirmed