W.D.N.Y.: USMJ accidentally crossing out a paragraph when a single sentence about no-knock was intended to be struck didn’t undermine PC; judge deciding the case made the mistake

The USMJ who issued the search warrant decides its validity. An entire paragraph was crossed out, but the court says that it only intended to cross out the no-knock authorization. Since the warrant was signed and the officers were directed to search, it was reasonable for the officers to conclude that probable cause had been found on the whole of the affidavit. “Moreover, Fourth Amendment jurisprudence supports the sufficiency of the warrant. While true that the Fourth Amendment requires a finding of probable cause for a court to issue a warrant, it provides no guidance on how that finding must be displayed.” United States v. Nix, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181050 (W.D.N.Y. April 25, 2016).

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