TX14: PC for a cell phone requires more than a bare conclusion one was present or involved; no PC here

“A probable cause affidavit supporting a cell phone search must contain evidence of the requisite nexus with more than mere conclusory allegations. For example, the Court of Criminal Appeals recently held that generic, boilerplate language about cell phone use among criminals is not alone sufficient to establish probable cause to search a cell phone.” Baldwin v. State, 2022 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 321 (May 11, 2022). No probable cause is shown here. Stocker v. State, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 8983 (Tex. App. – 14th Dist. (Houston) Dec. 8, 2022).

The search warrant here sought electronically stored evidence of sex crimes against two adult women. The fact the information for one was three months old didn’t make it stale because there was a reasonable inference that the SD card of the camera had been wiped clean, suggesting the data had been moved to other storage devices and kept. People v. Haas, 2022 NY Slip Op 06960, 2022 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6832 (3d Dept. Dec. 8, 2022).

Defendant’s “reverse Franks” claim that material omissions would have precluded finding probable cause fails. There would have been anyway. State v. Gibson, 2022 Del. Super. LEXIS 1422 (Dec. 5, 2022).*