D.S.D.: Seizure of work product from def’s jail cell for witness tampering was reasonable and run through a taint team

The search of defendant’s jail cell for evidence of witness tampering in his “work product” was reasonable, and the government used a taint team to segregate it. “The government’s conduct in this case was neither ill-conceived nor outrageous. It must be remembered Mr. Milk has neither a Fourth Amendment nor a Fifth Amendment right in the materials he possessed in his jail cell. … It was proper for the agents to enter Mr. Milk’s jail cell to determine if he was engaged in witness tampering or making threats against witnesses in either the trial of Brandon Janis or his own trial.” United States v. Milk, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 197499 (D.S.D. Oct. 23, 2020).

Defendant’s claim defense counsel was ineffective for not pursuing his alleged Fourth Amendment claim fails because it was completely unmeritorious. Moody v. United States, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 197793 (E.D. Va. Oct. 23, 2020).*

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