Title: Langford v. State

State: arkansas

Issuer: Arkansas Supreme Court

Document:

Mack LANGFORD v. STATE of Arkansas

CR 97-976                                          ___ S.W.2d ___

                    Supreme Court of Arkansas
               Opinion delivered February 26, 1998


1.   Motions -- suppression -- factors on review. -- In reviewing
     a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress, the supreme
     court makes an independent determination based upon the
     totality of the circumstances; the evidence is viewed in the
     light most favorable to the appellee, and the case reversed
     only if the ruling is clearly erroneous or against the
     preponderance of the evidence; totality-of-the-circumstances
     analysis is applied when determining whether the issuing
     magistrate had a substantial basis for concluding that
     probable cause existed. 

2.   Motions -- suppression -- review of -- totality-of-
     circumstances analysis discussed. -- Under the totality-of-
     the-circumstances analysis, the task of the issuing magistrate
     is simply to make a practical, common-sense decision whether,
     given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit before
     him, including the "veracity" and "basis of knowledge" of
     persons supplying hearsay information, there is a fair
     probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be
     found in a particular place; the duty of a reviewing court is
     simply to ensure that the magistrate had a substantial basis
     for concluding that probable cause existed.

3.   Criminal procedure -- reliability requirements of Ark. R.
     Crim. P. 13.1(b) -- affidavit disclosed enough information to
     show informants were worthy of belief. -- Rule 13.1(b) of the
     Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure adopts the totality-of-
     the-circumstances analysis; appellant contended that the
     officer's affidavit did not meet the requirements of Rule
     13.1(b) because he failed to set forth particular facts
     bearing on the informants' reliability and failed to disclose
     the basis of the informants' beliefs that appellant was
     involved in illegal drug activity; although the officer did
     not provide specific details about the informants' assistance
     in previous drug cases, he stated more than a mere conclusion
     and disclosed enough information to show that the informants
     were worthy of belief.      

4.   Criminal procedure -- confidential informant -- when failure
     to establish basis of knowledge not fatal -- affidavit
     provided substantial basis for finding of reasonable cause to
     believe that drugs and other contraband would be found at
     appellant's residence. -- Under Rule 13.1(b), failure to
     establish the bases of knowledge of the confidential
     informants is not a fatal defect "if the affidavit viewed as
     a whole provides a substantial basis for a finding of
     reasonable cause to believe that things subject to seizure
     will be found in particular places"; here, the officer's
     affidavit, viewed as a whole, provided a substantial basis to
     believe that drugs and other contraband would be found at
     appellant's residence. 

5.   Search & seizure -- warrant -- how invalidated. -- Under
     Franks v. Delaware,