A group of interesting cases: search incident of a cell phone suppressed; F.R.Crim.P. 41 precluded a § 1983 case; failure to list on inventory not a ground to suppress; officer’s statement during search was not an interrogation

The defendant was arrested on a controlled delivery of a package containing meth to his house. His cellphone was seized at the time of his arrest, but its call directory was not accessed for nearly three hours. The search of the cellphone could not be justified under the search incident doctrine. United States v. Lasalle, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34233 (D. Haw. May 9, 2007).

Plaintiff’s § 1983 claim for recovery of records seized during a raid for over sale of psuedophedrine was dismissed because he had a remedy under Rule 41. Fowler v. Lawson, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34235 (W.D. Okla. May 9, 2007):

In his response to the instant motion, Plaintiff acknowledges that Rule 41 provides for the return of his records. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiff and viewing all reasonable inferences in Plaintiff’s favor, as the Court must when addressing a motion for summary judgment, the Court finds that the remedy provided by Rule 41 is a “special factor” counseling hesitation and precluding Plaintiff’s claim based on the retention of his records.

Failure to list firearms seized from a felon in the inventory was not a Fourth Amendment violation that entitled the defendant to suppress the evidence. United States v. Ford, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34154 (W.D. Pa. May 9, 2007).

A statement to the accused during search was not interrogation designed to elicit a response [HA!]. United States v. Jackson, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34207 (D. Me. May 7, 2007):

At the conclusion of the hearing, during closing arguments, the government conceded that the defendant was not free to leave when he made the offer to try to retrieve the gun or when he told Campbell that the guns were in the refrigerator, but the defendant takes nothing from this because I conclude that neither statement was the result of interrogation. Informing a suspect of the evidence gained to date by law enforcement in the investigation of a particular crime and of the potential charges against the suspect do not constitute interrogation for purposes of Miranda. See Genao, 281 F.3d at 308, 310-11 (showing defendant items seized from his apartment and saying “We’ve got a problem here” not functional equivalent of questioning); United States v. Conley, 156 F.3d 78, 81, 83 (1st Cir. 1998) (recital of evidence by officer and his observations on its strength did not constitute interrogation).