Opinion ID: 751707
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: legality of searches conducted by willard, windell, and w.r. cox

Text: 19 We begin our analysis by discussing what Paige does not raise on appeal. Paige wisely does not argue that the initial search by Willard and Windell violated the Fourth Amendment. It is well-settled that the protection provided by the Fourth Amendment proscribes only governmental action, and that private party searches of property, even if wrongfully conducted, do not raise Fourth Amendment implications. Blocker, 104 F.3d at 725. There is no indication from the record (1) that the government knew of or acquiesced in the intrusive conduct of Willard and Windell, and (2) that Willard and Windell intended to assist law enforcement efforts in conducting their search. See Blocker, 104 F.3d at 725 (applying this two-part test, articulated by the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Miller, 688 F.2d 652, 657 (9th Cir.1982), to determine if a private party activates the Fourth Amendment by acting as an instrument or agent of the government in conducting the search). Willard and Windell, acting under no suspicion that drugs were contained on Paige's property, simply entered the garage as employees of a roofing company, looking for an extra piece of siding to replace the one they had damaged. Their purely private search triggered no Fourth Amendment alarm. 20 The same can be said about W.R. Cox's search of the attic, although for different reasons. The government maintains that the facts and circumstances clearly show that W.R. Cox was not an instrument or agent of the government when he conducted his search. As discussed, in analyzing such an argument, we have applied the two-part test articulated by the Ninth Circuit in Miller: (1) whether the government knew or acquiesced in the intrusive conduct; and (2) whether the private party intended to assist law enforcement efforts or to further his own ends. Blocker, 104 F.3d at 725. In arguing that neither prong was met, the government claims that W.R. Cox had no knowledge that Paige engaged in narcotics activity prior to his viewing of the marijuana, and that W.R. Cox's sole motivation in coming to the property was to check on the welfare of his two employees (one of whom was his son). The government makes this argument knowing that W.R. Cox was informed by Willard of the marijuana as soon as he (W.R.Cox) arrived on the property (per Willard's testimony), and that W.R. Cox was an off-duty deputy sheriff at the time of the search. In addition, the government does not explain how W.R. Cox's search in any way related to his concern for the welfare of his employees. Despite our concerns in this regard, our analysis of the legality of W.R. Cox's search is severely circumscribed by the fact that Paige does not raise a Fourth Amendment objection to it. 9 As such, we are constrained to accept the government's contention that W.R. Cox's search of the attic was a private party search raising no Fourth Amendment implications. 21