CA11: FBI’s negligence in taking six months to search def’s truck and computers did not require suppression

“Bruce Nicholson, an Alabama man convicted of federal child sex crimes and sentenced to life in prison, challenges his conviction on direct appeal. The main question in this criminal appeal is, as it often is, whether a criminal should ‘go free because the constable has blundered.’ People v. Defore, 242 N.Y. 13, 150 N.E. 585, 587 (N.Y. 1926). Nicholson was convicted of heinous crimes—the long-term sexual exploitation of two children that came to light only after one became pregnant and he spirited both away across the country. But the FBI dawdled during its investigation. The FBI let physical evidence sit in a wrecker service’s office in Kentucky for months before securing a warrant to seize it. And it searched a laptop seized in New York six months after its warrant’s deadline. Nonetheless, the answer to the question on appeal is that the constable’s blunders do not warrant reversing Nicholson’s conviction as a matter of law. Accordingly, after careful consideration and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm.” It is summed up in this heading: “The FBI’s Negligence Does Not Justify Excluding the New York or Kentucky Evidence.” United States v. Nicholson, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 2143 (11th Cir. Jan. 24, 2022).

There was probable cause for a search warrant for defendant’s SnapChat account as linked to his crime by two CIs. Jan. 24, 2022).*

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