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Attorney(S)

THOMAS E. MITCHELL, of Johnson City, H. DENNIS ERWIN, of Erwin, for plaintiff. NAT TIPTON, Assistant Attorney General, for the State.

Judges

MR. JUSTICE SWEPSTON delivered the opinion of the Court.

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Smart Summary

Case Summary: Bill Reece v. State of Tennessee (Supreme Court of Tennessee, 1954)

Factual and Procedural Background

Defendant Bill Reece was prosecuted in the Criminal Court of Washington County for unlawful possession of intoxicating liquor. He was convicted, the penalty fixed at a fine of $100 and 60 days in jail, and he appealed. The search that produced the contraband concerned a 1953 Willys jeep. Officers entered rural premises under a search warrant expressly including "all of the buildings, outhouses and vehicles found thereon." While an officer was reading the warrant, an unidentified man drove a jeep rapidly from the garage on the premises. The officers quickly searched the premises, followed the jeep's tracks, and located the jeep stuck in the mud about one-half mile away on an abandoned road. There was no one near the jeep. At first the officers did not see liquor, but they smelled the odor of whisky and observed liquid dripping to the ground; they then searched the jeep and found 119 pints of whisky under the seat and in a trap. The jeep bore the number 10087 and a County Court Clerk's office record introduced into evidence showed a registration certificate dated May 19, 1953, registering a 1953 Willys Jeep in the name of Bill Reece; the 1953 license tag bore number 6 — C — 10087. The clerk's deputy testified she did not know who owned the vehicle on the date of the search, July 19, 1953, and the county records did not show the owner as of that date. The defendant did not testify to rebut ownership. The Supreme Court considered two issues on appeal and affirmed the conviction.

Legal Issues Presented

Whether the search of the jeep (located off the premises after it had been driven from the premises while the warrant was being read) was lawful.
Whether the evidence proved the defendant to be the owner of the jeep so as to sustain a conviction for unlawful possession of the whisky found therein.

Arguments of the Parties

Appellant's Arguments

Defense counsel conceded that if the vehicle had been stationed on the premises at the time of the search, the officers would have been warranted in searching it (citing Lawson v. State).
Counsel contended, however, that because the jeep departed before the search began and the vehicle was later searched a considerable distance from the premises, the officers lacked legal authority to search the vehicle, relying on Dolen v. State.
On petition to rehear, counsel for the plaintiff in error argued that Code Section 2702 (the statute stating vehicle registration in a person's name constitutes prima facie evidence of ownership) was based on an Act whose caption limited its application to civil actions for personal injury and property damage, and therefore should not be applied in a criminal case to connect the defendant with ownership.

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of separate, affirmative legal arguments by the State beyond the factual testimony of the officers and reliance on statutory and common-law principles discussed by the Court.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent	Rule or Principle Cited For	Application by the Court
Lawson v. State, 176 Tenn. 457, 143 S.W.2d 716	Authority for searching a vehicle that was stationed on premises described in a search warrant.	The Court noted defense counsel's concession that Lawson would permit a search if the jeep had remained on the premises; the Court used this citation to frame the concession but went on to uphold the search despite the jeep's departure because of the circumstances.
Dolen v. State, 187 Tenn. 663, 216 S.W.2d 351	Relied upon by defendant to argue officers lacked authority to search after the vehicle departed the premises.	The Court considered and rejected reliance on Dolen, finding the facts (flight during reading of warrant, prompt tracking and location, and other circumstances) provided lawful basis to search the jeep.
Western Atlantic R.R. v. Land, 187 Tenn. 533, 216 S.W.2d 27	Illustration of the distinction between permissible factual inferences and improper "inference upon an inference." Used to address concerns about basing ownership on registration dated earlier than the offense.	The Court cited this case to support its conclusion that proof of registration is a factual basis from which ownership on a later date may reasonably be inferred (not an impermissible inference upon an inference), permitting the presumption that ownership continued absent countervailing proof.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The Court addressed the two questions in turn:

Lawfulness of the search: The Court found the warrant expressly included vehicles on the described premises. Although the jeep departed while the warrant was being read, officers had observed the jeep on the premises and pursued and tracked it promptly to its location about one-half mile away, where it was found stuck in the mud. The Court concluded the "nexus between the departure of this vehicle from the premises under the stated circumstances and the tracking and locating the same in the mire off an abandoned road fully satisfies the requirements of law," rejecting the defense theory that departure before completion of reading the warrant defeated authority to search. The Court also held that, independently, the officers' detection of the odor of whisky and observation of liquid dripping from the vehicle justified a warrantless search because the public offense (possession of intoxicating liquor) was being committed in their presence.
Proof of ownership: The Court examined Code Section 2702, which provides that registration of a vehicle in a person's name constitutes prima facie evidence of ownership. The defendant did not take the stand to rebut that presumption. On petition to rehear the Court acknowledged counsel's point that the original Act's caption related to civil actions, but explained that proof of registration is consonant with ordinary rules of evidence: registering a motor vehicle in one's name is an act from which it can reasonably be found the registrant was the owner on the date of registration. The Court treated that as a conclusion based on facts in evidence, not a mere presumption, and held that absent countervailing proof it was permissible to presume continued ownership at the later date of the search. The Court further relied on the Automobile Title and Registration Act (Chapter 70, Acts of 1951; Williams' Code § 5538.101 et seq.), which requires title and registration formalities and makes registration and certificate of title strong evidence of ownership—"practically conclusive" except in cases of fraud or equitable considerations. Based on these statutory and evidentiary grounds, the Court found the evidence sufficient to connect the defendant to the vehicle.

Holding and Implications

HOLDING: The Supreme Court of Tennessee affirmed the conviction of Bill Reece. The Court held that (1) the search of the jeep was lawful under the circumstances (warrant that covered vehicles on the premises coupled with prompt tracking and location after the jeep departed, and alternatively justified as a warrantless search upon detection of a public offense in the officers' presence), and (2) the evidence, including a registration dated May 19, 1953 showing the jeep registered in the defendant's name, was sufficient to establish ownership for purposes of the prosecution.

Implications: The direct consequence is the affirmance of the conviction and sentence. The Court also clarified that proof of vehicle registration is admissible and may be treated as evidence of ownership in a criminal prosecution where, absent countervailing proof, it reasonably supports a finding that the registrant remained the owner at the time of the offense. The Court overruled the petition to rehear on these points and relied further on the Automobile Title and Registration Act to reinforce that registration and title are strong evidence of ownership.

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BILL REECE v. STATE OF TENNESSEE.

1. SEARCHES AND SEIZURES.

Warrant which authorized search of certain rural premises and vehicles thereon authorized search of jeep which was driven off premises while warrant was being read and which was found a few minutes later stuck in mud about one-half mile away.

2. SEARCHES AND SEIZURES.

Where officers before searching jeep smelled odor of whisky and observed liquid dripping to ground from vehicle, they were authorized to search jeep whether or not their search warrant authorized the search.

3. INTOXICATING LIQUORS.

In prosecution for unlawful possession of liquor, evidence, including testimony that jeep in which whisky was found in July was registered in defendant's name in May was sufficient evidence of ownership to sustain conviction (Williams' Code, sec. 2702).

On Petition To Rehear. 4. AUTOMOBILES.

Purpose of original act on which was based statute providing that registration of vehicle in name of person constitutes prima facie evidence of ownership was limited to civil actions for personal injuries and property damage (Pub. Acts 1921, c. 162; Williams' Code, sec. 2702).

5. AUTOMOBILES. 6. AUTOMOBILES.

Apart from statute, proof of registration of motor vehicle is evidence from which it can reasonably be found that person in whose name vehicle was registered was owner thereof on date of registration (Williams' Code, sec. 2702).

7. INTOXICATING LIQUORS.

In prosecution for possession of whisky, which was found in motor vehicle two months after registration of vehicle, it could be presumed in absence of countervailing proof that person in whose name vehicle had been registered continued to be owner to date when whisky was found, notwithstanding contention that such presumption was to base inference upon inference (Williams' Code, sec. 2702).

8. AUTOMOBILES.

Purpose of Automobile Title and Registration Act was, inter alia, particularly to prevent theft of motor vehicles, to prevent fraud and to facilitate the transfer of title to motor vehicles (Williams' Code, secs. 5538.101 et seq., 5538.111(b), 5538.127 et seq.).

9. AUTOMOBILES.

Under Automobile Title and Registration Act, proof of registration is practically conclusive of ownership except in some cases of fraud or under some equitable considerations (Williams' Code, secs. 5538.101 et seq., 5538.111(b), 5538.127 et seq.).

FROM WASHINGTON.

MR. JUSTICE SWEPSTON delivered the opinion of the Court.

Defendant was convicted of the unlawful possession of intoxicating liquor with the punishment fixed at a fine of $100 and 60 days in jail from which he has appealed.

The two questions on appeal are, first, whether the search of the jeep automobile in which 119 bottles of whisky were found was lawful, and second, whether or not the defendant has been proved to be the owner of same.

Officers armed with a search warrant for the search of a seven or eight room black building located along the highway out in the country which warrant expressly included all of the buildings, outhouses and vehicles found thereon, entered the premises, and as one of the officers started reading the warrant to the defendant a jeep automobile was driven rapidly from the garage of the premises by some man who was never identified. After the officers had made a quick search of the premises which consumed a very few minutes, the officer in charge directed to the others to find the jeep if they could. By following the tracks of the jeep they located the same along an abandoned road about one-half mile from the premises described in the warrant. There was no one near the jeep and the same was stuck in the mud. They did not see any intoxicants at first but they smelled the odor of whisky and observed the liquid dripping to the ground. They then searched the vehicle and found 119 pints under the seat and in a trap. The defendant was not placed under arrest but was left alone on the premises searched. The officer testified that the jeep bore the number 10087 on the back of it. The deputy in the office of the County Court Clerk of Washington County filed a copy of an automobile registration certificate dated May 19, 1953, showing a 1953 Willys Jeep to be registered in the name of Bill Reece and the 1953 license tag bore the number of 6 — C — 10087. This witness said that she did not know who owned the particular vehicle on July 19, 1953, the date on which the search was made under the warrant, and that the records in the County Court Clerk's office did not show the owner as of this latter date.

Defendant's counsel concedes that if this vehicle had been stationed on the premises at the time of the search then under the authority of Lawson v. State, 176 Tenn. 457, 143 S.W.2d 716, the officers were warranted in searching the jeep. Counsel claims, however, that since the jeep departed before the search began and was finally searched a considerable distance from the premises the officers did not have the legal right to search the vehicle, relying for their authority upon the case of Dolen v. State, 187 Tenn. 663, 216 S.W.2d 351.

The officers testified that the jeep along with three or four other automobiles, was on the premises when the officer began reading the search warrant to defendant but that the jeep was driven away before he finished reading the warrant.

With due appreciation of the zeal and ingenuity of counsel we think this is an untenable theory. Adoption of such a theory would make it not only possible but practical for one engaged in the illicit handling of liquor to keep his entire stock of merchandise in covered trucks on the premises and poised for flight and enable all hands to weigh anchor and set sail in all directions before the reading of the warrant could be finished and thereby forestall a search of all of the vehicles.

We think the nexus between the departure of this vehicle from the premises under the stated circumstances and the tracking and locating the same in the mire off an abandoned road fully satisfies the requirements of law.

Moreover, the detection of the smell of liquor when the officers came to the jeep and the dripping of the liquid from the car was a sufficient justification under our cases for the search of the vehicle without a warrant as being a public offense committed in their presence.

With reference to the second question, — Code Section 2702 provides that the registration of any vehicle in the name of any person constitutes prima facie evidence of ownership of such vehicle by the party to whom it is registered, and also prima facie evidence that it was being used on the business of the registrant. The defendant did not take the stand to rebut this presumption.

The assignments of error are overruled and the judgment of the lower Court is affirmed.

MR. JUSTICE SWEPSTON delivered the opinion of the Court.

ON PETITION TO REHEAR.

Counsel for the plaintiff in error has diligently filed a petition to rehear in which exception is taken to our reference in the original opinion to Code Sec. 2702, insisting that with respect to proof of ownership in this case the caption to the original Act, Pub. Acts 1921, c. 162 on which this Code Section is based limits the application of same to actions for personal injury and property damage and being in derogation of the common law, is limited in its application to civil actions for personal injuries and property damage, and is not applicable to connect the defendant in a criminal case as here applied.

Counsel is correct with reference to the caption and purpose of the Act but in our opinion, it is nevertheless true that it is consonant with the ordinary rules of evidence and methods of proof to hold that a prima facie case of ownership appears when it has been shown that the vehicle is registered in the name of the accused. In the interests of brevity we did not in the original opinion develop the point.

In civil cases, in the application of this statute it has been held that the presumption created by this statute is not a true presumption but is one created for procedural purposes to supply the place of proof and that when credible evidence of unimpeached and uncontradicted witnesses is adduced, the so-called presumption disappears; but in the absence of such proof the presumption remains in the case, so that a jury may either accept or reject the evidence offered by the opposite party, and if it rejects the same, the jury may then fall back upon the presumption.

However, whether it be a civil or a criminal case, a person does not in the ordinary course of events in complying with this law or one to be mentioned later herein, register a motor vehicle in his name unless he is the owner of same and entitled to do so. Independent of the statute, therefore, proof of such act is evidence from which it can reasonably be found that the person in whose name the motor vehicle was registered was the owner thereof on the date of the registration.

That is a conclusion based upon facts in evidence and not a mere presumption, so that, although the alleged crime was committed a few months after the date of registration of the vehicle, a presumption may be indulged that the accused continued to be the owner, in the absence of any countervailing proof. Such is not to base an inference upon an inference. The distinction is well made in Western Atlantic R.R. v. Land, 187 Tenn. 533, 541-542, 216 S.W.2d 27.

There is also another statute which more strongly compels the conclusions above stated. That is Chapter 70, Acts of 1951, known as the Automobile Title and Registration Act, codified in Williams' Code as Section 5538.101 et seq. This Act took the place of the 1949 similar Act. Under the present Act also, Section 5538.127 et seq., it is required that every motor vehicle, with certain specified exceptions not here relevant, must be registered before being driven on the highways, and before the same may be registered, a certificate of title must be shown or applied for; before a transfer of interest the registration plate must be removed from the motor vehicle by the owner and there must be a transfer of the title papers. Section 5538.111, Subsection (b) provides that the word "owner" shall mean "a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle, * * *." The Act makes it a misdemeanor to violate its provisions except where otherwise the violation is made a felony.

That is a general statute designed among other things, but particularly to prevent the theft of motor vehicles, to prevent fraud and to facilitate the transfer of title to same.

Since the Act provides by express terms that the owner is the one who holds the legal title and only the one having a certificate of title may register the motor vehicle, proof of registration is practically conclusive of ownership except in some cases of fraud or under some equitable considerations. The writer had occasion while a member of the Court of Appeals, to go into this question and research developed that with the exception of about three cases involving equitable considerations, the Courts in every state having a similar statute holds that the certificate of title is conclusive evidence of ownership, and since only the one having title or applying for title may register the vehicle, the registration in the name of that person is practically conclusive evidence of ownership.

With deference to counsel we accordingly overrule the petition to rehear.

REECE v. STATE