S.D.Ga.: Search incident of def’s room on his arrest was valid even though he’d just been removed

The search incident of defendant’s room was valid because it occurred shortly after his arrest when he was still there, despite his being handcuffed which doesn’t per se make a search incident invalid. “Because defendant failed to allege facts which, if proved, would establish either a Fourth Amendment violative search or seizure, the burden never shifted to the Government and the motion should be properly denied. Because defendant does not allege facts which if true would require a grant of relief, the motion to suppress should be DENIED.” Even so, arguendo, when the untainted information is read out of the probable cause showing, probable cause still remains here. United States v. Oury, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 226495 (S.D. Ga. Dec. 10, 2019). [That’s incorrect: when it’s a warrantless search, the burden shifts to the government to justify it. That’s all defendant needs to show.]

The court assumes for sake of argument that there were false statements in the affidavit for search warrant. Removing them still leaves probable cause. United States v. Keleta, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 3566 (8th Cir. Feb. 6, 2020).