Because of evidence in plain view (drugs and a gun) after a traffic accident and all of defendant\u2019s prior drug arrests, it was not unreasonable for officers to seize defendant\u2019s Tracfone incident to arrest. The affidavit to search the cell phone was boilerplate, but it included enough to get over the probable cause threshold: \u201cThus, \u2018the fact that an affidavit contains some \u201cboilerplate\u201d language is not per se problematic so long as the affidavit also contains sufficient \u201cspecificity\u201d to satisfy probable cause.\u2019 …. The specifics here are that a driver, who had been arrested seven times in the past for possession with intent to distribute, was found (albeit unconscious) with a loaded Glock and 8.4 grams of cocaine within his reach. Viewed \u2018in a commonsense fashion,\u2019 … it was reasonable to believe that the cell phone he had on his person was used to assist in the distribution of drugs.\u201d United States v. Titington, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 195859 (M.D. Tenn. Nov. 16, 2018).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Because of evidence in plain view (drugs and a gun) after a traffic accident and all of defendant\u2019s prior drug arrests, it was not unreasonable for officers to seize defendant\u2019s Tracfone incident to arrest. The affidavit to search the cell … Continue reading