Source: http://masscases.com/cases/sjc/374/374mass142.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 12:38:20+00:00

Document:
COMMONWEALTH vs. BRUCE J. REYNOLDS.
INDICTMENTS found and returned in the Superior Court on November 7, 1973.
A motion to suppress evidence was heard by Taveira, J., and a question of law was reported by him to the Appeals Court. The Supreme Judicial Court, on its own initiative, ordered direct review.
Edward A. Roster for the defendant.
Court before trial to suppress evidence (the alleged stolen property) seized by the Commonwealth pursuant to a search warrant which had been issued by a District Court clerk on the affidavit of a police officer. Facts bearing on the motion to suppress were stipulated between the Commonwealth and the defendant. After consideration, a judge of the Superior Court denied the motion and, acting under G. L. c. 278, Section 30A, reported the following question to the Appeals Court (whence we took it for direct review): "Should a motion to suppress evidence be allowed when such evidence was obtained upon an affidavit containing misstatements?" We shall first discuss the question more or less in the abstract, and then address ourselves to the particular case.
In defense of the rule, it may be pointed out that the evidence sought to be suppressed will be in every case material to proof of guilt, otherwise the defendant would not be at pains to try to put it beyond consideration of the triers. An affiant, usually a police officer, will have submitted particulars on oath purporting to establish probable cause. A disinterested magistrate must have examined the allegations and found them sufficient on their face and at least not transparently false. Judicial review of the facts in suppression hearings might thus be thought an unessential if not a perverse procedure for which a price in time and effort has to be paid. See State v. Petillo, 61 N.J. 165 (1972), cert. denied, 410 U.S. 945 (1973), habeas corpus granted sub nom. United States ex rel. Petillo v. New Jersey, 400 F. Supp. 1152 (D.N.J. 1975), vacated per curiam, 541 F.2d 275 (3d Cir.), habeas corpus granted on remand, 418 F. Supp. 686 (D.N.J. 1976). On the other hand, the amount of critical attention a magistrate typically can give to an application, especially in making any inquiry as to truth, is very limited, and these applications in all events are proceeded with ex parte. See Model Code of Pre-Arraignment Procedure Section SS 290.3, Commentary at 570 (1975). (In the Commonwealth the magistrate may be a clerk or subclerk without legal training. See G. L. c. 276, Section 1; c. 218, Section 33.) To confine judicial review to a mere demurrer-like examination of the papers is to depend on the police without a significant outside check. It would appear incongruous to allow circumvention of probable cause requirements by insulating the statements of the police from substantially all effective scrutiny as to their truth. Nor does it appear that reliance can safely be put on any sanction available against the police themselves. See Mapp, 367 U.S. at 652-653; People v. Cahan, 44 Cal. 2d 434, 445-447 (1955) (Traynor, J.). Lawless or mindless police action under warrants improperly obtained may impinge on the privacy of the innocent as well as the guilty.
means of securing marginal "discovery" of the prosecution's case or the identity of an informant.
Such remarks on the subject as this court has made in previous opinions intimate agreement with the proposition mentioned above as least disputable (and perhaps lend support for a somewhat broader proposition). Thus we have twice been willing to assume arguendo that "a deliberate misrepresentation in an affidavit will render a search warrant invalid." Commonwealth v. Murray, 359 Mass. 541 , 548 (1971). Commonwealth v. Perez, 357 Mass. 290 , 301-302 (1970). See also Commonwealth v. Gallinaro, 360 Mass. 868 (1971). We have also said the contrary of "`inaccuracies not going to the integrity of the affidavit.'" Commonwealth v. Rugaber, 369 Mass. 765 , 768 (1976). Commonwealth v. Murray, supra. See also Commonwealth v. Piso, 5 Mass. App. Ct. 537 , 543 (1977); Commonwealth v. Sheppard, 5 Mass. App. Ct. 765 (1977); Commonwealth v. Kinnitt, 2 Mass. App. Ct. 810 (1974); United States v. Edwards, No. CR-76-314-T (D. Mass. Dec. 5, 1977). Cf. Commonwealth v. White, ante, 132 (1977); Commonwealth v. Haas, 373 Mass. 545 (1977).
According to the stipulation of the parties addressed to the truth of the averments of the affidavit, Bisson and McKearney were passengers in a car that was driven past the Reynolds house several times on August 21. Bisson did not observe any pre-cut lumber or any special factory covering on the lumber, and had not told the police that he had. He was able to observe a pile of black sheeting material on the Reynolds property and identified that as part of the material stolen from his company. After the drive past the Reynolds house, McKearney conferred with the chief of police of Rehoboth who "advised Officer McKearney as to the wording of the affidavit" that was presented as the basis for the issuance of the warrant.
We observe, first, that no support can be derived for a finding of probable cause from the allegations of the affidavit regarding information received from the Pawtucket detective. The detective's statement to McKearney stands on the unnamed informant's communication to the detective, but nothing is offered to substantiate the conclusion that the informant was "reliable." See Commonwealth v. Stevens, 362 Mass. 24 , 27 (1972); Commonwealth v. Monosson, 351 Mass. 327 , 329 (1966); Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410 (1969); Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108 (1964). Second, all the other significant statements in the affidavit are shown by the stipulation to have been false.
There is one statement in the stipulation that has no counterpart in the affidavit, namely, that Bisson identified some black sheeting material as stolen. This statement cannot support the warrant because, being absent from the affidavit, it was not before the clerk who issued the warrant.
We think the burden of persuasion should be on the defendant to justify suppression based on misstatements in an affidavit underlying a warrant. See People v. Alfinito, 16 N.Y.2d 181, 186 (1965); Model Code of Pre-Arraignment Procedure Section SS 290.3(1)(b) (1975). Cf. Commonwealth v. Botelho, 369 Mass. 860 , 867 (1976); Commonwealth v. Antobenedetto, 366 Mass. 51 , 61 (1974) (Tauro, C.J., dissenting in part), and cases cited. Judges should keep in mind our policy of encouraging the use of warrants and shunning hypertechnical reading of warrants and supporting affidavits -- a casuistical approach should likewise be avoided in interpreting the facts behind the affidavits. See Commonwealth v. Smith, 370 Mass. 335 , 343 (1976); Commonwealth v. Corradino, 368 Mass. 411 , 416 (1975).
The case is remanded to the Superior Court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
[Note 1] Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383 (1914) (fruits of illegal searches and seizures may not be used in Federal prosecutions). Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961) (Weeks exclusionary rule held binding on States).
[Note 2] Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410 (1969). Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108 (1964). Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160 (1949).
[Note 3] The Court may face the question in reviewing Franks v. State, 373 A.2d 578 (Del.), cert. granted, 434 U.S. 889 (1977).
[Note 4] See United States v. Collins, 549 F.2d 557 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 940 (1977); United States v. Esparza, 546 F.2d 841 (9th Cir. 1976); United States v. Lee, 540 F.2d 1205 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 894 (1976); United States v. Vento, 533 F.2d 838, 858 (3d Cir. 1976); United States v. Luna, 525 F.2d 4 (6th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 965 (1976); United States v. Belculfine, 508 F.2d 58 (1st Cir. 1974), on remand, 395 F. Supp. 7, aff'd, 527 F.2d 941 (1st Cir. 1975); United States v. Thomas, 489 F.2d 664 (5th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 844 (1975); United States v. Gonzalez, 488 F.2d 833, 838 (2d Cir. 1973). Contra, Kenney v. United States, 157 F.2d 442 (D.C. Cir. 1946); but cf. United States v. James, 494 F.2d 1007, 1016 (D.C. Cir. 1974).
[Note 5] State v. Davenport, 510 P.2d 78, 82 (Alas. 1973). Theodor v. Superior Court, 8 Cal. 3d 77 (1972). State v. Boyd, 224 N.W.2d 609 (Iowa 1974). State v. Melson, 284 So. 2d 873 (La. 1973). State v. Luciow, 308 Minn. 6 (1976). State v. Nanoff, 160 Mont. 344 (1972). State v. Spero, 117 N.H. 199 (1977). People v. Alfinito, 16 N.Y.2d 181 (1965). McCaskey v. State, 534 P.2d 1309 (Okla. Crim. 1975). State v. Wright, 266 Or. 163 (1973). Commonwealth v. D'Angelo, 437 Pa. 331 (1970). State v. Goodlow, 11 Wash. App. 533 (1974).
[Note 6] See State v. Sabari, 109 Ariz. 553 (1973); Liberto & Mothershed v. State, 248 Ark. 350, 356 (1970); Franks v. State, 373 A.2d 578 (Del.), cert. granted, 434 U.S. 889 (1977); State v. Lamb, 209 Kan. 453 (1972); Mattingly v. Commonwealth, 310 Ky. 561 (1949); State v. Petillo, 61 N.J. 165, cert. denied, 410 U.S. 945 (1972); Owens v. State, 217 Tenn. 544 (1965).
[Note 7] A variety of wordings have been used to describe the extreme category of affiant insincerity. See United States v. Belculfine, 508 F.2d 58, 63 (1st Cir. 1974) ("intentional, relevant, and nontrivial" misstatement); United States v. Dunnings, 425 F.2d 836, 840 (2d Cir. 1969) (Friendly, J.), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 1002 (1970) (when judicial officer is "put upon by the police"); United States ex rel. Petillo v. New Jersey, 400 F. Supp. 1152 (D.N.J. 1975) (material inaccuracy knowingly introduced); People v. Alfinito, 16 N.Y.2d 181, 185 (1965) ("perjurious" statements); Commonwealth v. D'Angelo, 437 Pa. 331 (1970) (knowing and material misrepresentations); Kipperman, Inaccurate Search Warrant Affidavits as a Ground for Suppressing Evidence, 84 Harv. L. Rev. 825 (1971) (intentional inaccuracy); Model Code of Pre-Arraignment Procedure Section SS 290.3 (1975) (material statements not in good faith).
[Note 8] Many courts have gone to the point of applying an exclusionary rule to cases of reckless material misstatements, with recklessness defined at times as a lack of reasonable grounds for believing the averments to be true. See United States v. Lee, supra; United States v. Luna, supra; United States v. Marihart, 492 F.2d 897 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 827 (1974); State v. Spero, 117 N.H. 199 (1977). Some have gone further, arguing that warrants based on negligent material falsehoods should fail, see Theodor v. Superior Court, 8 Cal. 3d 77 (1972); Kipperman, supra, note 7, and a few courts appear ready to excise inaccuracies whatever their cause, and consider the sufficiency of the remainder, see United States v. Thomas, supra; United States v. Harwood, 470 F.2d 322, 325 (10th Cir. 1972); State v. Davenport, 510 P.2d 78, 82 (Alas. 1973). See also Comment, The Outwardly Sufficient Search Warrant Affidavit: What If It's False? 19 U.C.L.A.L. Rev. 96 (1971).
That suppression might follow from negligent as well as intentional misrepresentation has been supported on the ground of deterrence, and also on a simple analogy to the law of warrantless search. When warrantless searches are judicially reviewed by reference to a standard which echoes the constitutional language of reasonableness ("The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures"), it may be contended that a like standard should apply in judicial scrutiny of the statements offered to procure the issuance of a warrant. See Theodor v. Superior Court, supra at 98-100.
[Note 9] As indicated in the text below, the case as it now stands does not admit of a characterization of the conduct of the Commonwealth through the police. In the absence of a complete record, it is not possible to evaluate the strength of any intimation that when it appeared that Bisson's identification of the black sheeting would be of dubious probative value, no mention of this was made in the affidavit, and reference to pre-cut lumber and special covering was then inserted.
[Note 10] Similar reluctance to make a pronouncement in this field beyond the necessities of the particular case appears in United States v. Belculfine, 508 F.2d 58 (1st Cir. 1974), and Commonwealth v. D'Angelo, 437 Pa. 331 (1970).
[Note 11] United States v. Harris, 501 F.2d 1 (9th Cir. 1974). United States v. Carmichael, 489 F.2d 983 (7th Cir. 1973). United States v. Dunnings, 425 F.2d 836 (2d Cir. 1969) (Friendly, J.), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 1002 (1970). Theodor v. Superior Court, 8 Cal. 3d at 103. Model Code of Pre-Arraignment Procedure Section SS 290.3 (1975).
[Note 12] See McCray v. Illinois, 386 U.S. 300 (1967); Theodor v. Superior Court, supra at 104-105; Grano, A Dilemma for Defense Counsel: Spinelli-Harris Search Warrants and the Possibility of Police Perjury, 1971 U. Ill. L.F. 405, 427-449; Comment, The Outwardly Sufficient Search Warrant Affidavit: What If It's False?, 19 U.C.L.A.L. Rev. 96, 123-134 (1971).
[Note 13] Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 420-423 (1971) (Burger, C.J., dissenting). Kaplan, The Limits of the Exclusionary Rule, 26 Stan. L. Rev. 1027 (1974).
[Note 14] See United States v. Peltier, 422 U.S. 531, 551-562 (1975) (Brennan, J., dissenting). Amsterdam, Perspectives on the Fourth Amendment, 58 Minn. L. Rev. 349 (1974).
[Note 15] See Selectmen of Framingham v. Municipal Court of the City of Boston, 373 Mass. 783 (1977), discussing United States v. Janis, 428 U.S. 433 (1976).

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