Case Name: STATE of Louisiana v. Stephen HUMBLE
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1975-02-24
Citations: 309 So. 2d 138
Docket Number: No. 54991
Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Stephen HUMBLE.
Judges: SUMMERS, J., dissents for the reasons assigned.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 309
Pages: 138–144

Head Matter:
STATE of Louisiana v. Stephen HUMBLE.
No. 54991.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Feb. 24, 1975.
Jack F. Owens, Jr., Reeves, Lossin & Owens, Jonesville, for defendant-relator.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., William C.< Falkenheiner, Dist. Atty., George Griffing, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-respondent.

Opinion:
BARHAM, Justice.
Stephen Humble was convicted of possession of marijuana and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment in the Parish Jail. Under Article VII, Section 10(5) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1921 (the law applicable in the instant case), no appeal lies from the conviction. Upon relator's application we granted writs; we now review the trial court's denial of relator's motion to suppress the evidence introduced at his trial.
In his motion to suppress, relator alleges that the affidavit in support of the search warrant application fails to establish probable cause; it is therefore argued that the evidence seized pursuant to the execution of the warrant should have been excluded. The contents of the affidavit are as follows:
"THAT A SEARCH WARRANT SHOULD ISSUE FOR THE SEARCH OF
"One 1963 Brown Chevrolet registered to Raymond H. Humble License #67 E 528 1972-73
"FOR THE PURPOSE OF SEIZING THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED PROPERTY:
"Marijuana or any other Controlled Dangerous Substance defined by LSA R.S. 40:961 et seq
"FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
"A reliable informant has given me reliable information on one prior occasion two months or so ago concerning a pending criminal investigation and the information given to me proved to be true. My informant is never been in trouble, he pays his bills, he is peaceable in the community and is known in the community to tell the truth. He has recently informed me that Steve Humble, white male who drives and uses the above described car, uses and sells marijuana. The informer says he sells the marijuana out of his car to teenagers around Jones-ville, La. Steve Humble has been suspected of using and distributing marijuana for a year or more. The undersigned has received reports from various sources, other than the reliable informant, referred to above, that Steve Humble has possessed and used marijuana. A Serach [sic] warrant is requested to search the above described car."
The State concedes in brief that the affidavit in support of the warrant application fails to meet the rule set forth in State v. Paciera, 290 So.2d 681 (La.1974)', by which the sufficiency of the information contained in a supporting affidavit must be tested. The Paciera rule, based on the United States Supreme Court's decisions in United States v. Harris, 403 U.S. 573, 91 S.Ct. 2075, 29 L.Ed.2d 723 (1971); Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 89 S.Ct. 584, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969); United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 85 S.Ct. 741, 13 L.Ed.2d 684 (1965); Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L. Ed.2d 684 (1964); and Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 80 S.Ct. 725, 4 L.Ed. 2d 697 (1960), requires that an affidavit contain detailed underlying circumstances:
" sufficient to provide a substantial factual basis by which the magistrate might find reliable both the informant and the information given by him. Factors which support the credibility of an «.identified informant include prior accurate reports or any specific independent corroboration of the accuracy of the instant report. Factors which support the creditability [sic] of the in-formaron reported include (a) direct personal observation by the informant, or (b), if the information came indirectly to the informant, the reasons in sufficient factual detail for the magistrate to evaluate and credit the reliability both of the indirect source and of the indirectly-obtained informaion. " State v. Paciera, supra, at 685-686.
We have no difficulty finding that the affidavit sufficiently sets forth the reliability of the informant under the test enunciated in Paciera. Information concerning a prior accurate report given by the informant satisfactorily establishes the informant's reliability. It is clear, however, that the information contained in the affidavit falls far short of providing a sufficient factual basis upon which the issuing magistrate could base a finding that the information provided is reliable. The affidavit merely presents unsubstantiated rumors and conclusory statements which, absent concrete substantiation or corroboration, cannot be a sufficient basis for a finding of probable cause. The affidavit contains neither specific information nor specific details which would tend to establish how the reliable informant came into possession of his information. The affidavit contains no indication that the affiant attempted to verify the information received from the informant by conducting a surveillance or by any other means. While the affiant does state that other "sources" reported that the relator had possessed and used marijuana, those "sources" are not identified or otherwise rendered credible and reliable. Nor is the bare accusation of the unidentified "sources" sufficiently detailed to support a finding of probable cause.
In addition to finding that the affidavit in the instant case fails to establish the reliability of the information contained therein, we note another defect in the affidavit. The affidavit fails to set forth information from which it may be determined that the proffered probable cause is contemporaneous with the application for and issuance of a warrant. Information contained in an affidavit must be sufficiently recent so as to justify a finding of probable cause at the time of the issuance of the search warrant. Sgro v. United States, 287 U.S. 206, 53 S.Ct. 138, 77 L.Ed. 260 (1932); State v. Boudreaux, 304 So.2d 343 (La.1974). While this Court recognized in Boudreaux that an affidavit is adequate if a common-sense construction of the face of the affidavit tends to establish that the information contained therein is current, we do not find sufficient information in the present affidavit from which we may infer that the probable cause information is recent enough.
For the reasons stated above, we find that the affidavit in support of the search warrant issued in the instant case is fatally deficient and that the trial court therefore erred in denying relator's motion to suppress based on that deficiency.
We thus reverse the relator's conviction and sentence and remand for new trial.
SUMMERS, J., dissents for the reasons assigned.
SANDERS, C. J., and MARCUS, J., dissent for the reasons assigned by SUMMERS, J.
The State argues that the rule to be applied in this case is distinguishable from the rule of Paciera because the magistrate who issued the warrant we consider knew the informant. To support this allegation the State has appended to its brief a per curiam of the trial court wherein it is certified that at the time of the issuance of the warrant, the judge personally knew the informant's identity and his credibility. Notwithstanding the trial court's certification, this information may not be considered by us in deciding the sufficiency of the affidavit. Moreover, the per curiam merely attests to the informant's credibility; we concede that his credibility was sufficiently established in the affidavit. Our concern, as will be noted, is with the affidavit's failure to state sufficient underlying facts which would provide an adequate basis for finding the information, contained therein credible.