Opinion ID: 2747913
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Indictments and the Motion to Suppress

Text: In August 2010, Franz was charged with theft of government property and conspiracy to defraud the United States because of his smuggling of the tusk. He eventually pled guilty to those charges and did not challenge either warrant in that case. Then, on January 5, 2012, a grand jury indicted him for two child pornography crimes: receipt of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1); and possession of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). In the ensuing prosecution, Franz filed a motion to suppress all evidence collected pursuant to both the Nardinger and Herrick Warrants. Among other things, he argued that the Nardinger Warrant failed to satisfy the Fourth Amendment’s particularity requirement. The District Court concluded the warrant was valid at the time it was issued; however, the Court also ruled that because Nardinger did not provide Franz with Attachment B to the warrant, which described the items to be seized, the warrant was facially invalid when it was executed. The Court went on to consider the possible deterrent effect that would be achieved by 6 excluding the evidence in this case and decided that the exclusionary rule did not apply. It based its decision on Nardinger’s behavior. Specifically, the Court noted that Nardinger consulted with the United States Attorney’s Office in deciding which documents the government would seek to seal, he verbally described to Franz the items to be searched for and seized when executing the warrant, and he allowed Franz to be present during the search. The Court also noted that the warrant was the first that Nardinger had ever prepared or executed. Looking at the totality of the circumstances, the Court determined that Nardinger had no intention to wrongfully conceal the purpose of the search and that the decision to withhold the attachments was a “reasonable misunderstanding” based in part on unclear language in the sealing order. Therefore, the Court concluded, no appreciable deterrent effect would be gained by applying the exclusionary rule. Franz challenged the Herrick Warrant based on a lack of particularity and probable cause, and he argued that it was tainted by the problems with the Nardinger Warrant. The District Court ruled that the Herrick Warrant appeared valid on its face and that, even if the Nardinger Warrant were invalid, the exclusionary rule did not require suppression of evidence obtained pursuant to the Herrick Warrant. Importantly, Franz’s motion to suppress did not include the argument he now advances on appeal: namely, that the government’s failure to provide Franz with a copy of the Herrick Warrant and an inventory until thirty-one months after it was executed violated his due process rights and Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Franz advanced that argument in a motion for reconsideration, which the District Court denied. 7