Opinion ID: 1851305
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Testimony allegedly unfairly restricted at the hearing on the motion to suppress the evidence as illegally obtained.

Text: The second argued issue was raised by the defendant's assignment of error no. 2. The hearing on the motion to suppress was lengthy (Record pp. 123-215), and the trial court allowed the defendant great latitude in interrogating the police officers and in introducing his own evidence as to the alleged unlawfulness of the search. We note only two rulings made during the course of the lengthy hearing to which the defendant objected. Despite this, the defendant now contends that the trial court unfairly restricted the scope of the hearing. He points out several excerpts from the hearing whereat (without objection at the time) the trial court reiterated that he regarded the issue before him as limited to the validity of the warrant and the search made thereunder. With regard to the validity of the warrant, the police officers testified that the confidential informants involved had previously given them reliable information which had resulted in several convictions. Under jurisprudential standards now applicable, these indicia of reliability are sufficient. The two rulings as to which formal objection at the time was made involved an inquiry as to the age of a confidential informer and as to whether he had a police record. The alleged purpose of these questions was to test the reliability of the informant (not of the affiant police officers, who had submitted their affidavit to the magistrate and had secured the search warrant). The inquiry at a motion to suppress is directed at the sufficiency of the affidavit presented to the magistrate. The credibility of the affiants who themselves presented the information to the magistrate may be attacked, since a falsely sworn affidavit is a fraud on the court. However, the personal credibility of the informants who gave the information to the affiant cannot be investigated at such a motion, since this is not an issue (except insofar as the indicia of their reliability as a source of information) at the hearing to determine whether the magistrate issued the warrant upon probable cause shown to him. See: State v. Cox, 330 So.2d 284 (La. 1975); State v. Roach, 322 So.2d 222 (La. 1975); State v. Giordano, 284 So.2d 880 (La.1973); State v. Melson, 284 So.2d 873 (La.1973); State v. George, 273 So.2d 34 (La.1973). For purposes of the permissible inquiry at the motion to suppress, we find no shown relevance of the prior criminal record or age of the informants who gave information to the truthful affiant police officers. During the hearing, no objection was made to the trial court's comments now complained of at Tr. 41, 71-72 (where, in fact, the trial court permitted the defendant to proceed, see Tr. 74), Tr. 90 and 91 of the hearing transcript. At Tr. 74 and 91, the trial court specifically indicated a willingness to hear any more evidence the defendant desired to introduce, and we found no place at which defendant's inquiry was in fact restricted. [1] Aside from the waiver of the right to complain by the failure to object at the time, La.C.Cr.P. art. 841, an examination of the transcript as a whole discloses no factual or legal basis for the defendant's belated complaints of the curtailment of the scope of the evidentiary hearing. The testimony further reflects that the physical evidence was seized pursuant to a search resulting from a lawfully obtained warrant. The motion to suppress was correctly denied.