Category Archives: Automobile exception

GA: SW for blood draw specifically didn’t mention testing

Where the search warrant for defendant’s blood only permitted drawing the blood and not testing it, testing it required another warrant. State v. De La Paz, 2024 Ga. App. LEXIS 98 (Mar. 8, 2024). Defendant’s conviction was based in part … Continue reading

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NJ: Prior knowledge def probably had drugs in car didn’t require SW, and automobile exception still applied

Prior knowledge defendant might have marijuana in his car didn’t require the police to get a search warrant for the car. The automobile exception still applied. [Eight months afterward, NJ legalized marijuana.] State v. Baker, 2024 N.J. Super. LEXIS 24 … Continue reading

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D.Utah: Automobile exception permits search under the hood

The automobile exception permits a search under the hood, even if it is not the most likely spot to find drugs and a weapon. Here, a clip was found in the car, and the gun it belonged to under the … Continue reading

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The automobile exception is 99 today

The automobile exception is 99 today. Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132 (1925). The offense date: December 15, 1921. The place: Pike 16, 16 miles east of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The car: an Oldsmobile Roadster: The car was likely … Continue reading

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E.D.Cal.: Motion for return of property can’t be granted while criminal proceedings still pending

A motion for return of property involved in a criminal case can’t be entertained until all proceedings have concluded. Here, the 2255 has neither been filed nor resolved. United States v. Kindley, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31431 (E.D. Cal. Feb. … Continue reading

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CA2: A temporal limitation on the SW would have been better, but it’s still cured by GFE

It would have been better for the search warrant to have included a temporal limitation, but that doesn’t have to be decided because the good faith exception is found to apply in any event. United States v. Saint Clair, 2024 … Continue reading

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VA: Automobile exception doesn’t require “ready mobility” and this car was totaled in a wreck

Defendant’s car was totaled in a wreck, and it couldn’t be driven. Nevertheless, the automobile exception applied to it. After Carney, “ready mobility” is no longer required because of the lesser expectation of privacy in a car compared to a … Continue reading

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N.D.Tex.: Rule 41 doesn’t apply to forfeiture actions; Supplemental Rule G(8)(a) does

The government sought forfeiture of the owner’s cash after it was seized at DFW after a dog sniff on his bag. The owner responded with a motion to suppress under Rule 41, but that doesn’t apply in forfeiture cases. Supplemental … Continue reading

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W.D.Pa.: Affidavit for SW failed to show PC, but it wasn’t completely bare bones, so GFE applies

The affidavit averred that defendant came from his house and got in his car manifesting characteristics of somebody who was probably armed, although the officers could see no gun. This is all inference, which isn’t precluded. The affidavit is not … Continue reading

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KS: PC for truck extended to its fifth-wheel trailer

With probable cause to search defendant’s truck, that extended to the fifth-wheel trailer it was towing. State v. Crudo, 2024 Kan. LEXIS 4 (Jan. 12, 2024). The “Rodriguez moment” came when the officer asked for consent to search. On the … Continue reading

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D.P.R.: Probation search can precede arrest

Defendant’s probation officer was not a “stalking horse” for the police in this probation search. They both had their reasons for the search. Following most of the circuits addressing the issue, the search can precede the arrest. United States v. … Continue reading

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C.D.Ill.: No RS car with SC plates and tinted windows violated IL law

There was no reasonable suspicion that the window tinting on a car with South Carolina plates found in Illinois violated Illinois law. United States v. Timms, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 220195 (C.D. Ill. Dec. 8, 2023).* Plaintiff state prisoner’s § … Continue reading

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OH11: Using a flashlight during execution of SW still “plain view”

Using a flashlight during the search of defendant’s home did not negate plain view during execution of the warrant. State v. Washington, 2023-Ohio-4484, 2023 Ohio App. LEXIS 4302 (11th Dist. Dec. 11, 2023). Defendant was a suspect in a fake … Continue reading

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LA: Def’s lie about living in place to be searched helped GFE to apply to overcome staleness

The trial court and court of appeals both erred in finding that the affidavit for search warrant was “so lacking” in probable cause that the good faith exception should not apply. “The affidavit accompanying the search warrant application explained the … Continue reading

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LA4: CI’s success rate not important when CI corroborated by controlled buy

The affidavit for the warrant here did, in fact, show probable cause and nexus from the informant’s reports corroborated by observations of the officers. The lack of a success rate by the CI wasn’t as important when he was corroborated … Continue reading

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WV: SW for items that are also common to any home doesn’t make warrant general; it’s specific enough

Officers had two search warrants for Gray’s place, and defendant complained that the warrant described things common to any home. There was probable cause for that stuff, and there’s no requirement of a more specific description. State v. Knotts, 2023 … Continue reading

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CA8: Officer corroborated only CI’s objective information, not the crux, but that was enough for PC for automobile exception

There was no corroboration of the incriminating part of the CI’s tale that defendant, a convicted felon, kept a gun hidden under the hood of his car. “But Officer Princivalli had no reason to find Moore’s statements untrustworthy or unreliable. … Continue reading

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D.Neb.: Open container violation justifies a search of the passenger compartment

An open container violation justifies a search of the passenger compartment. United States v. Smith, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 192108 (D. Neb. Oct. 24, 2023). The warrant affidavit’s discussion of the silver truck was a reasonable inference and not a … Continue reading

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NC: Search incident doesn’t apply to hit-and-run; automobile exception didn’t apply to car partly submerged in ditch

Defendant was the passenger in a car owned by her parents involved in a hit-and-run that fled the scene and ended up in a ditch. The driver ran off because he said he had warrants. She gave the driver’s name. … Continue reading

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TX5: A safe removed from a car under the automobile exception was subject to search without a warrant

A safe removed from a car that was otherwise subject to search under the automobile exception was still subject to a warrantless search after it was removed and taken to the police station. Defendant’s effort to compare it to a … Continue reading

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