\u201cIndicia warrant\u201d for \u201cvenue evidence\u201d to show defendant\u2019s connection to premises was broad but not overbroad. Under Eighth Circuit precedent, the search did not violate the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Darr, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111623 (E.D. Mo. October 20, 2010):<\/p>\n
\u201cA warrant authorizing officers to seize anything related to indicia of occupancy is quite broad.\u201d [United States v. Romo-Corrales<\/a>, 592 F.3d 915, 920 (8th Cir. 2010)] (quoting United States v. Timley<\/a>, 443 F.3d 615, 623 (8th Cir. 2006)). Thus, in Romo-Corrales, the court held that a warrant authorizing a search for \u201cvenue evidence\u201d (i.e., mail, bills, receipts or other indicia of a suspect’s connection to a residence) permitted officers to search \u201cthe laundry hamper, garage, cooler, behind a mirror or picture, behind a dresser, and underneath the bed,\u201d because these were areas where such evidence could be located. Id. Likewise, in this case, the search warrant authorized the police to search closed containers in the defendant’s room, as these were areas in which the items listed in the warrant could have been concealed.<\/p>\n
While searching the defendant’s bedroom, the police found digital images of child pornography and small boy\u2019s underwear inside a VCR container. The seizure of these items did not violate the Fourth Amendment, as they were found during the course of a lawful search and their incriminating character was immediately apparent. See United States v. Alexander<\/a>, 574 F.3d 484, 490-91 (8th Cir. 2009) (under plain view exception to warrant requirement, police lawfully seized evidence of child pornography found during execution of search warrant for evidence of crime of invasion of privacy).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So, in the Eighth Circuit, my home circuit, this means that \u201cindicia warrant\u201d for \u201cvenue evidence\u201d can be used as a legal pretext to search virtually anywhere for evidence: a laundry hamper, VCR container? Result oriented jurisprudence at its worst.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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