While an “animal protection agent” of the Humane Society is not statutorily authorized to seek a search warrant under Colorado law, the court refuses to suppress because there was probable cause and the warrant was otherwise executed reasonably. People v. Harris, 2016 COA 159, 2016 Colo. App. LEXIS 1549 (Nov. 3, 2016):
[*2] Her appeal raises two novel issues of statutory construction: first, we consider whether, under section 35-42-107(7), C.R.S. 2016, an animal protection agent who is an employee of the Humane Society is authorized to obtain a search warrant to investigate the suspected mistreatment of horses. We conclude that the agent exceeded her statutory authority but determine that suppression of the evidence seized in executing the warrant is not required.
. . .
B. Remedy for the Statutory Violation
[*27] Next, we must decide the appropriate remedy for this violation. Both parties assume that, if Sergeant Garcia had no authority to obtain the horse warrant, the search necessarily violated Harris’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. On this basis, Harris contends that the exclusionary rule applies, and thus the evidence obtained during the search should have been suppressed. The People maintain that the evidence was properly admitted under the “good faith exception” to the exclusionary rule, as codified in section 16-3-308(1), C.R.S. 2016. We reject both contentions.
[*28] We conclude that, although Sergeant Garcia was not authorized to obtain the horse warrant, the statutory violation did not amount to a constitutional violation. Accordingly, the exclusionary rule does not apply and the evidence was properly admitted at trial.
[*29] “[T]he exclusionary rule is a judicially created doctrine whose sole purpose is to deter future Fourth Amendment violations.” People v. Marko, 2015 COA 139, ¶ 150. Violations of statutory provisions, though, are not per se violations of the Fourth Amendment. People v. Hamilton, 666 P.2d 152, 156 (Colo. 1983). Thus, before employing the exclusionary rule as a remedy, we must determine whether there was a constitutional violation, rather than a mere statutory violation. See People v. Bowers, 716 P.2d 471, 473 (Colo. 1986) (“[S]uppression of evidence is a drastic remedy and is generally confined to violations of constitutional rights.”); People v. Casillas, 2015 COA 15, ¶ 19 (“A statutory violation does not ordinarily trigger suppression of evidence because suppression ‘is designed to effectuate guarantees against deprivation of constitutional rights.'” (quoting People v. McKinstry, 843 P.2d 18, 20 (Colo. 1993))) (cert. granted May 16, 2016).
[*30] Harris contends, or rather assumes, that the horse warrant was constitutionally deficient because Sergeant Garcia was not authorized to obtain it. But to be valid under both the United States and Colorado Constitutions, a warrant must meet three requirements: (1) it must have been issued by a neutral, disinterested magistrate; (2) those seeking the warrant must have demonstrated to the magistrate their probable cause to believe that the evidence sought would aid in a particular apprehension or conviction for a particular offense; and (3) the warrant must particularly describe the things to be seized, as well as the place to be searched. People v. Pacheco, 175 P.3d 91, 94 (Colo. 2006); Marko, ¶¶ 145-46; see also Bowling v. Rector, 584 F.3d 956, 969 (10th Cir. 2009).
[*31] Based on these requirements, Sergeant Garcia’s acting beyond her statutory authority when she obtained the horse warrant has no bearing on the constitutionality of the warrant and related search. See Bowling, 584 F.3d at 968 (warrant was constitutional even though officer acted beyond his statutory authority when he applied for it); United States v. Freeman, 897 F.2d 346, 348 (8th Cir. 1990) (A limited-authority officer’s conduct in excess of his statutory jurisdiction is an example of “procedural violations which do not implicate the constitutional values of probable cause or description with particularity of the place to be searched and items to be seized.”). Whether or not she exceeded her statutory authority is simply unrelated to the core constitutional concerns of a neutral magistrate, probable cause, and particularity. Indeed, this statutory violation “is not, without more, significantly relevant to our Fourth Amendment analysis.” Bowling, 584 F.3d at 967.
[*32] Accordingly, if the horse warrant procured by Sergeant Garcia, although obtained in excess of her statutory authority, meets the three requirements of a neutral magistrate, probable cause, and particularity, there is no constitutional violation. While Harris does not contest that the first and third requirements were met, she does contend that the warrants were not supported by probable cause.
