MT: Lawyer suspended for telling client to refuse to cooperate in execution of a SW

A lawyer telling his girlfriend-client to refuse to cooperate in DUI blood draw by search warrant is suspended for 30 days. Multiple officers were ultimately involved with a restraint chair brought in before she relented. The lawyer was also convicted of obstructing a peace officer and received a deferred sentence which had already been affirmed. In re Gardner, No. PR 21-0100, 2021 Mont. LEXIS 1051 (Dec. 21, 2021).

The failure of the search warrant affidavit to show the proximity of two locations isn’t a lack of probable cause. The magistrate lives in the community and may know. Moreover, the issuing magistrate may take judicial notice of proximity of two locations. Probable cause was shown in the four corners of the affidavit, and the good faith exception would apply. United States v. Davis, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 249096 (E.D.N.C. Dec. 7, 2021).

This 2255 petitioner claims defense counsel’s failure to fully investigate his Fourth Amendment and Rule 41 claims didn’t state a claim that he wouldn’t have pled guilty. There was no showing that any Fourth Amendment violation even occurred. Obadiah v. United States, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2011 (S.D.Fla. Jan. 5, 2022).*

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