CA5: USPS letter carrier not a 4A govt actor

A regular USPS letter carrier is not a governmental actor the Fourth Amendment governs. Here, her thumb slipped through a preexisting hole in a package she was delivering, and she became suspicious it contained drugs and wouldn’t leave it at an apartment with kids around. She left it with a building manager who called the police who did a dog sniff and got a warrant for it. United States v. Johnlouis, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 22368 (5th Cir. Aug. 11, 2022):

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W.D.Mo.: 26 day delay in getting cell phone SW wasn’t unreasonable

A 26 day delay between seizure of a cell phone and issuance of a search warrant for it was not constitutionally unreasonable. Defendant’s motion for return of the phone is deferred until the trial is over. United States v. Brown, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143357 (W.D. Mo. Aug. 11, 2022).*

“Because our precedent establishes that a First Amendment retaliation claim such as Mr. Towne’s accrues when the underlying criminal charge is brought, and because the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonough v. Smith, 139 S. Ct. 2149, 204 L. Ed. 2d 506 (2019), has not disturbed that conclusion, we affirm the judgment of the district court.” Towne v. Donnelly, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 22294 (7th Cir. Aug. 11, 2022).*

Defendant was arrested for battery outside his house, and the police entered for a protective sweep which was limited. The co-occupant voluntarily consented to a search of the premises. United States v. Davis, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 22295 (7th Cir. Aug. 11, 2022).*

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N.D.Cal.: Prolonging traffic stop to inquire of probation or parole status unreasonable

Prolonging the traffic stop for further information on defendant’s parole and probation status was unreasonable. It diverted from the traffic stop. United States v. Gould, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142915 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 10, 2022).

The protective sweep of defendant’s house was reasonable because officers saw other armed men enter the house at various times. United States v. Nunez, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 22195 (9th Cir. Aug. 10, 2022).

Despite medical marijuana being lawful in the state, the smell of raw marijuana can still support probable cause for a search. State v. Hall, 2022-Ohio-2772, 2022 Ohio App. LEXIS 2620 (8th Dist. Aug. 8, 2022).

The state failed to prove exigency for a warrantless blood draw in a DUI case. State v. Blancas, 2022 Ida. LEXIS 91 (Aug. 11, 2022).*

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W.D.N.Y.: 4A doesn’t protect a jail cell shakedown search; procedural due process does not apply

Defendant’s jail cell was subjected to a shakedown search, and it was reasonable. His claim of procedural due process safeguards come from civil cases and don’t apply. United States v. Arrington, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142770 (W.D.N.Y. Aug. 10, 2022).

“Even if the defendant could carry his burden to show the warrant issued without probable cause, the government’s argument pursuant to Leon, 468 U.S. at 913, would carry the day.” United States v. Brown, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141863 (S.D. Ga. July 19, 2022).*

“Considering the totality of the circumstances, the court finds that the August 7 affidavit provided sufficiently fresh information to suggest a fair likelihood that Defendant’s firearm would be found in the hotel room he was staying.” “Finally, Defendant asserts that the August 7 affidavit contained intentionally or recklessly made falsehoods, the absence of which would negate probable cause. In his motion, Defendant does little to develop this claim; instead, he waits until replying to the government’s response to clarify and include supporting evidence. As explained above, this is not proper. In any event, his argument lacks merit.” “As discussed above, the court finds that the August 7 search warrant was supported by probable cause. Even if the court had come to a different conclusion, the government has met its burden of showing that an objectively reasonable law enforcement officer would have reasonably relied on the warrant. Here, there was substantially more than some slight ‘modicum of evidence’ connecting evidence of the shooting with the hotel room where Defendant was staying.” United States v. Peterson, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142667 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 10, 2022).*

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NY2: Search of wallet during a frisk unreasonable

Officers violated the Fourth Amendment during defendant’s frisk when they removed his wallet from his pocket and searched it. People v. Lewis, 2022 NY Slip Op 04920, 2022 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4797 (2d Dept. Aug. 10, 2022).

The officer here lacked probable cause for defendant’s arrest. (Decided under Fourth Amendment, not the state constitution which was not argued.) State v. Cabrera, 321 Or. App. 382 (Aug. 10, 2022).*

There was no true exigency for dispensing with an electronic warrant which was available to the officer. State v. Martin, 321 Or. App. 361 (Aug. 10, 2022).*

Plaintiff showed enough to get over qualified immunity on her excessive force claim. Shumate v. City of Adrian, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 22093 (6th Cir. Aug. 10, 2022).*

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CA4: Avoid “divide-and-conquer” reasoning on RS and PC

The record doesn’t definitively support the district court’s conclusion that the government proved forfeitability of the cash. The record was enough in dispute that there needed to be a trial on the merits. United States v. McClellan, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 22128 (4th Cir. Aug. 10, 2022). As to the “divide-and-conquer” reasoning of the district court, the Fourth Circuit reminds us to avoid it:

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OR: No REP in medical records that include BAC results

There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in medical records including the results of defendant’s BAC test. State v. Hoffman, 321 Or. App. 330 (Aug. 10, 2022):

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PA: Failure to argue new case law where it came out 3-1/2 months before suppression hearing was waiver

Defendant doesn’t get the application of a case to his decided 3½ months before his suppression hearing where he didn’t argue it. Commonwealth v. Brown, 2022 PA Super 138 (Aug. 10, 2022).

CSLI lawfully obtained before Carpenter saved by the good faith exception. United States v. Todd, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 21977 (4th Cir. Aug. 9, 2022).*

Defendant was identified by his victims as their shooter. When he was seen on street in a car registered to his father, there was probable cause for his stop. State v. Bryant, 2022 N.M. App. LEXIS 43 (Aug. 8, 2022).*

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M.D.Pa.: No QI for violation of knock-and-announce; fact question for trial

Defendant officers’ motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity for violating the knock-and-announce rule is denied. The law is well settled for 25 years and there are no blanket exceptions. The rest is fact bound. Murphy v. Grochowski, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141591 (M.D. Pa. Aug. 9, 2022).

Defendant opened his backpack during an encounter with the police, and the incriminating nature of some of the contents was immediately apparent to the officer so it could be seized. United States v. Johnson, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 21959 (10th Cir. Aug. 9, 2022).*

Stopping defendant for not stopping at the apparent unmarked crosswalk between two sidewalks on the exit from an apartment building was reasonable. The smell of marijuana was apparent. United States v. Stevenson, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 21970 (6th Cir. Aug. 9, 2022).*

The search warrant in this fraud case wasn’t stale. There were records and proceeds sent to defendant’s mother’s house. United States v. Brown, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 21979 (4th Cir. Aug. 9, 2022).*

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CA4: It was “immediately apparent” glass pipe was drug paraphernalia

A glass pipe almost certainly for ingesting drugs was “immediately apparent” for plain view, citing United States v. Van Zee, 380 F.3d 342 (8th Cir. 2004). United States v. Runner, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 21854 (4th Cir. Aug. 8, 2022).

The stop here was for illegal parking in front of a known drug house. That also supported the reasonable suspicion to extend it. United States v. Allen, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 21921 (8th Cir. Aug. 9, 2022).*

Defendant was stopped for street racing in El Cajon and the backup officer saw the handle of a gun in the backseat. That led to a valid search for the gun. United States v. Hill, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140961 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 8, 2022).*

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W.D.Ky.: Presence of a passenger doesn’t alter analysis of abandonment of a vehicle

Defendant’s flight from an automobile is a waiver of his reasonable expectation of privacy. The fact a passenger was left behind doesn’t make it not abandonment as to him. United States v. Howard, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140670 (W.D. Ky. June 29, 2022), adopted, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137776 (W.D.Ky. Aug. 3, 2022):

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D.V.I.: Boat without lights at night is subject to stop

A boat operating at night without lights in U.S. Customs waters violates federal law and it is subject to stop. United States v. Romero-Amaro, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140477 (D.V.I. Aug. 8, 2022).

In the tire chalking case, nominal damages but no injunctive relief or refund of paid parking tickets. There was no damage to the tires. Taylor v. City of Saginaw, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140564 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 8, 2022).

One doesn’t get discovery to attempt to support a Franks challenge with just mere speculation something will be found. United States v. Rucks, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140123 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 5, 2022).

Defendant was stopped because officers knew he had no valid DL. In plain view in the cupholder were two obvious joints. Commonwealth v. McMahon, 2022 PA Super 133, 2022 Pa. Super. LEXIS 342 (Aug. 8, 2022).*

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Motherboard: This Is the Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion

Motherboard: This Is the Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion by Jason Koebler and Anna Merlan (“Motherboard has obtained court documents that show Facebook gave police a teenager’s private chats about her abortion. Cops then used those chats to seize her phone and computer.”)

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D.Minn.: Police delay in responding to 911 call in part belied exigency

There no longer was exigency, in part here from the police delay in responding to 911 call, and what was observed was innocuous. No exigency on the totality. Cotten v. Miller, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139360 (D. Minn. Aug. 5, 2022).*

Defendant was on supervised release, and he was stopped for a traffic offense. He produced another person’s driver’s license. This permitted a Gant search incident for his own driver’s license around where he was sitting. That produced a THC vape. Further search of the car under the automobile exception produced a backpack which he disavowed. Inside was more drugs. United States v. Pinder, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139354 (D. Utah Aug. 4, 2022).

Defendant didn’t have ineffective assistance of counsel because defense counsel didn’t file a notice of supplemental authority with a later case that wouldn’t have changed the outcome. United States v. Aigbekaen, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139367 (D. Md. Aug. 3, 2022).*

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D.Minn.: No 4A claim for seizure of legal papers in prison

There is no Fourth Amendment claim for seizure of legal papers when an inmate was moving within a prison. Smith v. Starr, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139361 (D. Minn. Aug. 5, 2022).

“Following the arrest, however, the agents lawfully knew both that Lazzaro had a phone and that the phone was in Lazzaro’s apartment. Under these circumstances, and given the obvious importance of the phone to the investigation (which is why the case agent asked Rielly to give him any phone that Lazzaro possessed at the time of his arrest), the Court is persuaded that the agents would have obtained a warrant to search Lazzaro’s apartment for the phone had Rielly known that such a warrant was necessary. As a result, any evidence obtained from the phone is admissible under the independent-discovery doctrine (or, alternatively, the inevitable-source doctrine).” United States v. Lazzaro, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139362 (D. Minn. Aug. 5, 2022).*

A state court’s interpretation of state law is binding on a federal habeas court. CoA denied. Adkins v. Warden, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 21671 (6th Cir. Aug. 4, 2022).*

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D.Neb.: Towing a trailer to police station to execute a SW on it was reasonable

Police had probable cause that a sexual assault occurred in defendant’s trailer, so they seized it to get a search warrant. Before executing the warrant, they had it towed to a police station. Defendant was in jail and had no immediate possessory interest. In addition, this was reasonable. United States v. Knight, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139749 (D. Neb. Aug. 4, 2022).

Defendant’s phone calls to his mother and sister from jail led to search warrants for their property for defendant’s clothes worn and a weapon used in a robbery-murder. State v. Bowden, 2022 Conn. LEXIS 214 (Aug. 1, 2022).*

The motion to suppress defendant’s cell phone should have been granted. There was no probable cause to connect the phone to the crime under investigation. State v. Smith, 2022 Conn. LEXIS 215 (Aug. 9, 2022).

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CT: Def’s missing father was exigency for warrantless entry

The entry into defendant’s house was justified by the emergency exception because his father had been missing for days. State v. Samuolis, 2022 Conn. LEXIS 213 (Aug. 9, 2022).

As to probable cause, “The district court found the affidavits constitutionally adequate but alternatively concluded that suppression was inappropriate in any event because the officers acted in good faith in executing the search warrants. We affirm the district court based on this alternate reasoning.” The good faith exception clearly applies. United States v. Lindsey, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 21673 (8th Cir. Aug. 5, 2022).*

Plaintiff, an Arkansas inmate convicted of child porn offenses, sued Microsoft under § 1983 for illegal search using its proprietary software PhotoDNA that searches emails for child porn. It isn’t a state actor. Moreover, the action violates Heck v. Humphrey because it seeks to undermine the conviction in a civil action. Walker v. Microsoft Corp., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138420 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 3, 2022).

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OK: 5A’s foregone conclusion rule applies to passcodes

The foregone conclusion rule applies to defendant’s Fifth Amendment claim revealing the password to his electronics would incriminate him. Reynolds v. State, 2022 OK CR 14, 2022 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 14 (Aug. 4, 2022):

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CA5: Probable cause defeats a malicious prosecution claim

Probable cause defeats a malicious prosecution claim. Payton v. Town of Maringouin, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 21506 (5th Cir. Aug. 3, 2022):

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IA: Smell of MJ smoke 6 days earlier wasn’t stale here

“[W]e conclude that although this was an isolated event and the evidence sought was easily removable, the passage of six days was not significant enough to render the warrant stale.” State v. Euchner, 2022 Iowa App. LEXIS 590 (Aug. 3, 2022).*

Defendant consented to a protective sweep. United States v. Villot-Santiago, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137631 (D. Mass. Aug. 3, 2022).*

“In this case, Howard’s actions did not evidence an actual expectation of privacy. After his rented vehicle was disabled during the high-speed chase with law enforcement, Howard exited the vehicle and fled on foot” leaving behind his stuff. That was abandonment. United States v. Howard, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137776 (W.D. Ky. Aug. 3, 2022).*

“An officer in Parr’s position could reasonably believe that Acuna’s failure to signal was a violation of K.S.A. 8-1548. Even if, as Defendants contend, that belief was mistaken under Kansas law, the court concludes the belief was objectively reasonable. As such, the stop of the vehicle was supported by reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation and was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.” United States v. Gastelum, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138235 (D. Kan. Aug. 3, 2022).*

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