VoteKansas.org

The government got a search warrant with information from a CI in a white collar case. Instead of executing the warrant, the government gathered some more information, resubmitted the information and obtained a second search warrant which was executed. The alleged Franks violation was not material to the second search warrant’s issuance, and there was plenty of probable cause in the first application. United States v. Mandell, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60925 (S.D. N.Y. May 1, 2012)* [Note: Any problems with the second warrant likely weren't sufficient to suppress, but this was an easier resolution of the case.]

Defendant was suspected of possession of drugs, but his driving justified a reasonable suspicion stop for likely possession of drugs. The stop was valid, and there was actually probable cause for the search of the car and search incident for drugs. State v. Watkins, 2012 N.C. App. LEXIS 588 (May 1, 2012).*

The defendants were suspected of possession of stolen property moving in interstate commerce. The government did a fly over and spotted a mini excavator nearby which was never established to be on their property. Officers driving by noticed four trailers and they were suspected of having stolen trailers. Officers got a search warrant to enter the property, and it was valid and with probable cause. In any event, the excavator was on open fields 500' from their house. United States v. Young, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 8958 (4th Cir. April 30, 2012).*

Barack Obama says he agrees with Abraham Lincoln (you could ask him) that America is "the exceptional nation," a nation unique in a world of moral squalor, a beacon of hope for the "tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free." But sometimes cold pragmatism demands the exceptional ...

Officers responding to a noise complaint at a loud party and seemingly invited in to the living room by an unknown guest were not entitled to go to the bedrooms and open doors under the community caretaking function. State v. Kaltner, 2012 N.J. LEXIS 502 (May 1, 2012), aff’g per curiam 420 N.J. Super. 524, 22 A.3d 77 (2011):

The panel explained that the community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement requires a case-by-case, fact-sensitive analysis. The relevant question focuses on the objective reasonableness of the police action under the circumstances, and requires that the court balance the nature of the intrusion necessary to handle the perceived threat to the community caretaking concern, the seriousness of the underlying harm to be averted, and the relative importance of the community caretaking concern. The panel concluded that the police action in this case was not constitutionally permitted. Although the officers' entry into the dwelling was initially justified, their subsequent action in fanning out and conducting, in essence, a full-blown search of the home was not reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that justified the entry in the first place, nor was it carried out in a manner consistent with the factors supporting the entry's initial legitimacy. As explained by the motion judge, the objective of noise abatement could have been achieved well short of the officers' full-scale search. For example, given the number of officers present and the fact that the offending noise emanated from the crowd itself, the officers could easily have dispersed the partiers.

After balancing the competing interests, including the important privacy interest in one's home, the breadth and extent of the invasion of the entire premises, the limited nature of the community caretaking concern, and the relatively low threat posed in light of the available less-drastic options, the panel concluded that Officer Camacho was not lawfully in the hallway outside Kaltner's bedroom when he viewed the evidence, and the plain-view doctrine did not excuse his entry into the bedroom and seizure of the drugs.

FoxNews.com: Taking Liberties: Cab driver isn't paranoid, the government IS watching him by Douglas Kennedy:

Just because taxi driver Andre Olczak believes he’s being watched, doesn’t mean he’s paranoid

In fact, he’s not only being watched, he’s being monitored every second while he’s at work.

“It’s terrible,” he says as he drives his yellow cab on W. 48th St. in midtown Manhattan.

“They are constantly watching me.”

“They” are the TLC, or Taxi and Limousine Commission, the government body that licenses taxi drivers in New York City. In 2007, the TLC required all cabbies to install GPS or Global Positioning System devices to monitor their locations, speed and meters while they’re driving.

My last post about TLC's GPS monitoring was back in September 2010. Are taxicabs “highly regulated” for fare ripoffs? FoxNews being FoxNews, it probably does not have a sense of history on this.

Defendant’s consent to a computer search for child pornography was voluntary. He was seemingly gregarious when talking with the officers explaining his obtaining child pornography. [For staleness cases, note that defendant admitted eight years worth of stuff.] United States v. Schaefer, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60977 (E.D. N.Y. May 1, 2012):

First, the circumstances surrounding the consent to search were non-coercive. In particular, the Court finds that (1) the defendant was approached at his own residence during the early evening; (2) the two agents and detective who came to his home to speak with him were in plain clothes, and their weapons were not drawn; (3) the agents asked the defendant for permission to enter his home, which he granted; (4) the agents introduced themselves and stated that the reason for the visit related to child pornography; (5) the defendant was never handcuffed or placed in custody by the agents; (6) the entire interview and search took one-half hour; and (7) no threats or promises were made to the defendant during the interview or search.

Second, the defendant orally consented to the search and also signed a written consent form which (1) specifically advised him of his right to refuse consent, (2) stated that he understood that information obtained by the search could be used against him, and (3) stated that no threats or promises had been made in exchange for consent.

Third, with respect to the characteristics of the defendant, the Court notes that the defendant is a 53-year old who graduated high school, reads English, manages a deli department, and is familiar with computers. Thus, his personal characteristics also favor a finding that he voluntarily consented to the search.