D.Mont.: No SW needed for non-tribal officer to enter a reservation

The search here was in a remote area on the Crow Nation. First, officers had exigency because it was cold, raining, and getting dark, and evidence might be lost. Also, defendant was abandoned there by his assault victim, and he was subject to the elements. Second, the Fourth Amendment doesn’t even apply because this was all on open fields. Defendant claims a search warrant is required for any officer to enter a reservation, but no case law says that. United States v. Door, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87502 (D. Mont. May 24, 2018).*

Officers had plenty of probable cause for the place to be searched by detailed and corroborated information that drugs were kept there and a deal was going down there. Defendant objects to the use of the word “occupant” to describe him, but the general use of the word included him. His Franks challenge on that fails, too. United States v. Thompson, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87462 (N.D. Ohio May 24, 2018).*

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