Opinion ID: 3052889
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Defense of Consent

Text: In the district court, the government argued that the officers had consent to enter the Rodriguez family’s home.5 The district court cited this part of the government’s case as one aspect of its bad faith. We disagree. The record shows that the government had some factual support for its argument that the officers obtained consent before entering the Rodriguez family’s home; thus, we conclude that the district court clearly erred in holding that the government’s defense of consent demonstrated bad faith. The government’s defense of consent was supported by the admissible testimony of several percipient witnesses; there- 4 The government suggests that an argument must be both objectively and subjectively frivolous, but we have previously required only that an argument be objectively frivolous. See United States v. Sherburne, 249 F.3d 1121, 1126 n.4 (9th Cir. 2001) (“Unlike the term ‘frivolous,’ the term ‘vexatious’ has both a subjective and an objective component.”). 5 It is, of course, well established that consent to search is an “exception to the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of warrantless searches of homes.” United States v. Enslin, 327 F.3d 788, 793 (9th Cir. 2003). The consent, however, must be valid. See United States v. Shaibu, 920 F.2d 1423, 1425 (9th Cir. 1990). The Rodriguez family has not argued that it was frivolous for the government to raise the defense of consent on any basis other than a lack of facts to support that someone consented to the officers’ entry. RODRIGUEZ v. UNITED STATES 12299 fore, we cannot conclude that it was “so obviously wrong” or so lacking in support that it was “groundless.” See Manchester Farming P’ship, 315 F.3d at 1183 (stating that a “frivolous [argument] is one that is groundless,” and an argument is groundless if it is “foreclosed by binding precedent or . . . obviously wrong”); see also Oxford English Dictionary (2d ed. 1989) (defining “groundless” as “[d]estitute of foundation, authority, or support; having no real cause or reason; unfounded”). It is true that the accounts of the officers relating to consent varied. Most notably, Thompson stated on one occasion that both women consented to their entry, on other occasions that Maria gave consent, and on yet another occasion that only Yolanda gave the officers consent. Though Thompson’s accounts are inconsistent, the three other officers agree that Hoffman asked Maria for consent to enter in Spanish. And these three officers all testified that Maria consented to their entry, with two of the officers testifying that her consent was given in Spanish and one who “believes” her consent was given in English. Of these three officers, only Hoffman had previously contradicted his testimony by testifying, in an earlier interview, that it was Yolanda who gave consent. [3] Thus, while the factual support for the government’s defense of consent was weakened by inconsistencies and contradictions, the theory that Maria consented to the officers’ entry was supported by competent testimony. As a result, if the district judge found the testimony of certain officers credi- ble, it could have concluded that Maria consented to the officers’ entry. See United States v. Lindberg, 220 F.3d 1120, 1125 (9th Cir. 2000) (affirming the district court’s conclusion that the government’s arguments were not vexatious or frivolous when there was evidence from which the jury could infer that the defendant had the requisite knowledge). For this reason, we cannot conclude that the government’s defense of consent was “groundless.” [4] We also conclude that the district court’s determination that the government’s defense of consent was in bad faith 12300 RODRIGUEZ v. UNITED STATES rises to the level of clear error. Reversal for clear error requires “a definite and firm conviction” that the district court made a mistake. United States v. Asagba, 77 F.3d 324, 326 (9th Cir. 1996). Here, it was the Rodriguez family’s burden as the prevailing party to show the government’s bad faith. Espinoza-Gutierrez v. Smith, 94 F.3d 1270, 1279 (9th Cir. 1996). But the Rodriguez family’s only argument to support bad faith with respect to the government’s consent defense is that the defense lacked factual support. And, for the reasons described above, that argument is not only unpersuasive, but also based on an inaccurate reading of the officers’ testimony. Moreover, awarding fees based on bad faith “is punitive and should be imposed ‘only in exceptional cases and for dominating reasons of justice.’ ” Id. (quoting Brown, 916 F.2d at 495). Because the government had at least some testimony from witnesses who were at the scene of the Operation to support its defense of consent, “dominating reasons of justice” did not require a finding of bad faith.