Opinion ID: 778535
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Franks Standard

Text: 8 Cecil Brown contends that the FBI agent's affidavit supporting the Government's application for a wiretap order was insufficient to establish probable cause. According to Brown, the affidavit contained a series of misrepresentations and material omissions designed to give a false impression of both the reliability of the Government's confidential informant and the quantum of evidence the Government already had gathered. Brown argues that the district court erred in denying his request for an evidentiary hearing pursuant to Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978), and also in failing to suppress the evidence gathered through electronic surveillance. 9 With respect to Franks hearings, we have held that a defendant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on a motion to suppress evidence if he shows that (1) allegations in a supporting affidavit were deliberate falsehoods or made with a reckless disregard for the truth, and (2) the remaining portion of the affidavit is not sufficient to support a finding of probable cause. United States v. Dickey, 102 F.3d 157, 161-62 (5th Cir.1996)(citing Franks, 438 U.S. at 171, 98 S.Ct. at 2684); see also United States v. Guerra-Marez, 928 F.2d 665, 671 (5th Cir.1991). The second prong of the test, however, is often determinative: Even if the defendant makes a showing of deliberate falsity or reckless disregard for the truth by law enforcement officers, he is not entitled to a hearing if, when material that is the subject of the alleged falsity or reckless disregard is set to one side, there remains sufficient content in the warrant affidavit to support a finding of probable cause. Dickey 102 F.3d at 161-62; United States v. Privette, 947 F.2d 1259, 1261 (5th Cir.1991). 10 The district court concluded that Brown was not entitled to a Franks hearing and denied Brown's motion to suppress evidence gathered through electronic surveillance. The wiretap order at issue here led to three separate prosecutions, and the defendants in each case raised nearly identical motions to suppress. District Judge Frank Polozola set out at length his reasons for denying the motion in the riverboat license extortion case, in which Cecil Brown was a codefendant. See United States v. Edwin Edwards, et al., 124 F.Supp.2d 387, 393-400 (M.D.La.2000). Then, in a case involving criminal tax violations by an Edwards associate, District Judge Carl Barbier independently reviewed the record and adopted Judge Polozola's findings when denying Martin's motion to suppress. See United States v. Andrew Martin, 169 F.Supp.2d 558, 566-67 (E.D.La.2001)(criminal tax violations). And in this case, then-District Judge Edith Brown Clement reviewed the materials and adopted Judge Polozola's findings as her own. 11 This court reviews the denial of a Franks hearing de novo. Dickey, 102 F.3d at 162. 12 Brown's allegations of false or misleading statements may be grouped under two headings. First, he says that the Government relied heavily on a cooperating witness, Patrick Graham, whom the Government knew was completely untrustworthy. Second, Brown contends that the Government misrepresented what was actually said during consensually recorded conversations between Graham and Brown.