Army Ct.Crim.App.: Search authorization for cell phone text messages did not permit looking at pictures

The search authorization here was for text messages on a servicemember’s cell phone. The searchers, however, looked for pictures, too. The military good faith exception, Mil. R. Evid. 311(c)(3), specifically addresses the scenario when officers rely on a subsequently invalidated search warrant. The good faith exception to the exclusionary rule, however, does not extend to situations involving the unlawful execution of a valid warrant. The pictures must be suppressed. United States v. Morales, 2017 CCA LEXIS 757 (Army Ct. Crim. App. Dec. 13, 2017) (Treatise § 52.08 on GFE; § 52.39 on scope of authorization of searches under Mil. R.Evid. 315(c)).

A blank rental agreement was produced for the car defendant was driving. This doesn’t confer standing. Defendant was arrested and taken into custody for driving on a suspended driver’s license, and the vehicle was towed and inventoried within policy. United States v. White, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 208703 (W.D. Mo. June 19, 2017).*

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