Category Archives: Abandonment

S.D.Ohio: Affidavit for SW showed home was base of DTO

The collection of information for probable cause for the warrant included a reasonable inference that defendant’s home was a base of operations for a drug trafficking operation, and this was nexus. United States v. Jackson, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 144185 … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Nexus, Seizure | Comments Off on S.D.Ohio: Affidavit for SW showed home was base of DTO

CA7: SW affidavit would have been useful at sentencing on drug quantity but defense didn’t offer it

The search warrant affidavit here could have been relevant to the drug quantity calculation, and defendant should have put it into evidence at sentencing. United States v. Rollerson, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 22622 (7th Cir. July 30, 2021). Defendant was … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Admissibility of evidence, Probation / Parole search | Comments Off on CA7: SW affidavit would have been useful at sentencing on drug quantity but defense didn’t offer it

S.D.Ind.: Blood in car transporting shooting victim to ER justified SW for it

Defendant was driven to an ER after 2 am for having been shot. Out in the ER parking was the car with blood and guns in it. A state judge issued a search warrant for the car, and that resulted … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Probable cause, Reasonable suspicion | Comments Off on S.D.Ind.: Blood in car transporting shooting victim to ER justified SW for it

D.C.: Illegal patdown without RS caused def’s flight; discard of gun in flight excluded

The patdown of defendant was manifestly unreasonable, and defendant’s flight was thereafter. The exclusionary rule should be applied to this. Johnson v. United States, 2021 D.C. App. LEXIS 187 (July 15, 2021):

Posted in Abandonment, Attenuation, Exclusionary rule, Reasonable suspicion | Comments Off on D.C.: Illegal patdown without RS caused def’s flight; discard of gun in flight excluded

N.D.Ind.: Search incident of unconscious man unreasonable without arrest or justification

A search incident of the unconscious defendant was unreasonable because it lacked any justification. He wasn’t arrested to be searched incident to it. United States v. Johnson, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125188 (N.D. Ind. July 6, 2021). Defendant abandoned his … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Search incident, Stop and frisk | Comments Off on N.D.Ind.: Search incident of unconscious man unreasonable without arrest or justification

D.Nev.: Abandonment after unreasonable seizure not voluntary

There was no reasonable suspicion for defendant’s detention before he fled the officer. The alleged abandonment occurred after the unreasonable seizure, so it was involuntary. United States v. Dudley, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117108 (D. Nev. June 23, 2021). Florida’s … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Probation / Parole search, Reasonable suspicion | Comments Off on D.Nev.: Abandonment after unreasonable seizure not voluntary

IA: State constitution prohibits warrantless trash search; “Current Fourth Amendment jurisprudence is a mess.”

Finding Iowa law long recognized trespass was an unreasonable entry, the state Supreme Court holds under the state constitution that trash out for collection by the trash collector is not abandoned property, and defendant still retained a reasonable expectation of … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, GPS / Tracking Data, Reasonable expectation of privacy, State constitution | Comments Off on IA: State constitution prohibits warrantless trash search; “Current Fourth Amendment jurisprudence is a mess.”

D.Mass.: 14 day delay between seizure and search of cell phone reasonable

This 14 day delay between the seizure of his cell phones and the application of the warrant to seize them is reasonable. In addition, there is no Fourth Amendment right to have a search warrant issued sooner than it was, … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Cell phones, Prison and jail searches, Private search, Reasonableness | Comments Off on D.Mass.: 14 day delay between seizure and search of cell phone reasonable

E.D.N.C.: Window tint violations always require a stop

Window tint violations require a stop to verify. “But the Supreme Court has said that ‘[t]o be reasonable is not to be perfect, and so the Fourth Amendment allows for some mistakes on the part of government officials, giving them … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Nexus, Reasonable expectation of privacy, Reasonable suspicion | Comments Off on E.D.N.C.: Window tint violations always require a stop

IA: Officer’s complying with 4A is not an element of the underlying crime for the jury

The officer’s complying with the Fourth Amendment in the stop and arrest is not an element of defendant’s crime [or any crime]. State v. Chivalan, 2021 Iowa App. LEXIS 381 (Apr. 28, 2021) [one can, in some cases, get an … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Inventory, Reasonable suspicion | Comments Off on IA: Officer’s complying with 4A is not an element of the underlying crime for the jury

CA9: Saying you just found the backpack you’re carrying in a dumpster shows no REP

“First, the court did not clearly err in finding that Gage had abandoned any reasonable expectation of privacy in the backpack by telling Officer Robinson that the group had just retrieved the backpack from a garbage dump and that he … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Informant hearsay, Qualified immunity, Reasonable expectation of privacy | Comments Off on CA9: Saying you just found the backpack you’re carrying in a dumpster shows no REP

D.Ariz.: Def’s motion to unseal SW affidavit denied because of ongoing investigation

Defendant’s motion to unseal the affidavit for the search warrant is denied because of an ongoing investigation it would reveal and because he can’t show a lack of probable cause for the search. United States v. Calleta, 2021 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Reasonable suspicion, Warrant execution | Comments Off on D.Ariz.: Def’s motion to unseal SW affidavit denied because of ongoing investigation

OH5: Def didn’t abandon cell phone but it was still reasonable for officer to turn it on to see if he could ID owner

Defendant did not abandon his cell phone by leaving it charging in a vehicle (actually, it had fallen out but the charging cable was attached) where he was away from it. However, the officer reasonably could turn on the phone … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Cell phones, Reasonable expectation of privacy | Comments Off on OH5: Def didn’t abandon cell phone but it was still reasonable for officer to turn it on to see if he could ID owner

CA10: Nexus shown to AZ residence where additional records were found

A search of a pain management doctor’s Arizona residence was based on nexus to his Wyoming medical practice. The government showed that patient records were in both places. United States v. Khan, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 5611 (10th Cir. Feb. … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Ineffective assistance, Nexus | Comments Off on CA10: Nexus shown to AZ residence where additional records were found

D.P.R.: Getting out of car and running away from it on seeing the police is abandonment

Defendant didn’t file a declaration under penalty of perjury contesting the facts alleged in his criminal complaint. He also fails to show even a subjective reasonable expectation of privacy in the place searched to give him standing. He abandoned his … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Dog sniff, Search | Comments Off on D.P.R.: Getting out of car and running away from it on seeing the police is abandonment

NY: Denial of ownership of a key fob found under def at his arrest is abandonment of the car

Defendant could be detained during the search of his house under a warrant. When he got up off the floor, there was a key fob underneath him, and he denied it was his. The officers used the panic button to … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Attenuation, Burden of pleading, Standing | Comments Off on NY: Denial of ownership of a key fob found under def at his arrest is abandonment of the car

D.C.Cir.: IAC claim presented first in court of appeals decided without remand; claim fails on its face

Defendant raised his ineffective assistance claim first in the Court of Appeals. Usually, the court says it would remand for an evidentiary hearing. Here, however, his allegation is facially insufficient and the issue is decided without a remand. The challenge … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Automobile exception, Ineffective assistance | Comments Off on D.C.Cir.: IAC claim presented first in court of appeals decided without remand; claim fails on its face

E.D.Tenn.: Leaving suitcase in an open grassy area is a loss of a REP in it

Defendant left his suitcase in an open grassy area, and that was a waiver any reasonable expectation of privacy in it. See United States v. Wilson, 984 F. Supp. 2d 676 (E.D. Ky. 2013) (leaving suitcase in a cemetery was … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Reasonable expectation of privacy, Standing | Comments Off on E.D.Tenn.: Leaving suitcase in an open grassy area is a loss of a REP in it

D.Mass.: Def accidentally lost his fanny pack in flight; court finds abandonment even though he didn’t intend it

The court finds defendant abandoned his fanny pack which he said was strapped over his chest and fell off during flight from the police. He testified he didn’t intentionally drop the fanny pack, and it must have slipped off while … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Informant hearsay, Reasonableness | Comments Off on D.Mass.: Def accidentally lost his fanny pack in flight; court finds abandonment even though he didn’t intend it

TX: Is abandonment of a car also abandonment of the information in a cell phone left in it?

Dissent on denial of a petition for discretionary review: The court should decide whether fleeing a car and leaving one’s cell phone behind is abandonment. The court of appeals below held it was. Wiltz v. State, 595 S.W.3d 930, 936 … Continue reading

Posted in Abandonment, Cell phones | Comments Off on TX: Is abandonment of a car also abandonment of the information in a cell phone left in it?