ME: Great detail supported the CI’s statement; inclusion of CI’s criminal history didn’t undermine PC

The great detail about the CI with its corroboration was probable cause. The inclusion of the CI’s criminal history doesn’t ipso facto undermine the probable cause, and the reviewing court is obliged to give deference to the issuing court’s probable cause finding. State v. Arbour, 2016 ME 126, 2016 Me. LEXIS 141 (Aug. 11, 2016):

[*P14] In this case, the affidavit (1) provided detailed information about the named informant, Howard, and explained how he had come to directly observe contraband in the apartment; and (2) noted that Howard had provided highly specific information, including a hand-drawn map of the apartment. The affidavit also contained statements by Howard against his penal interest. Furthermore, the police corroborated Howard’s assertions that he had pawned or sold tools as he described and that he had observed a possibly stolen air compressor in the apartment. In these ways, this case differs from Rabon, in which we concluded that the affidavit provided insufficient information about the informant and that the police had only corroborated “readily available information” that did not “show that the tipster has knowledge of concealed criminal activity,” 2007 ME 113, ¶ 34, 930 A.2d 268 (quotation marks omitted); unlike the informant in Rabon, Howard provided “inside information” about criminal activity and contraband in the apartment. See id. (quotation marks omitted).

[*P15] The fact that the affidavit contains information that Howard’s criminal history involves convictions for crimes of dishonesty, and that the police arranged for Howard to be released from incarceration on a probation hold before he provided them with information, may be considered when conducting the “balanced assessment” of the factors supporting or undercutting the informant’s tip. See id. ¶ 23 (quotation marks omitted). However, given the information in the affidavit unrelated to Howard, and the deference that must be shown to the judge who issued the warrant, see Wright, 2006 ME 13, ¶ 8, 890 A.2d 703, Howard’s criminal history and the benefit he received from the police do not negate probable cause.