Opinion ID: 183984
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: A.4.e. Inevitable Discovery

Text: The independent source doctrine removes the taint of any illegality from the initial search of the contents of the Kazvid folder in the 120 GB hard drive. However, the subsequent searches of the 120 GB hard drive and ultimately all the hard drives were illegal because these searches were not supported by valid warrants. As previously discussed, the first federal search warrant was invalid because it mistakenly authorized a search of the 40 GB hard drive rather than the 120 GB hard drive. The second federal search warrant was invalid because it relied on evidence obtained from the unlawful search of the 40 GB hard drive. Despite this illegality, the inevitable discovery doctrine applies, rendering suppression of the evidence gathered as a result of these illegal searches unnecessary. Under the inevitable discovery doctrine, if the prosecution can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the information ultimately or inevitably would have been discovered by lawful means ... then the deterrence rationale has so little basis that the evidence should be received. United States v. Vasquez De Reyes, 149 F.3d 192, 195 (3d Cir.1998) (quoting Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431, 104 S.Ct. 2501, 81 L.Ed.2d 377 (1984)). The Government can meet its burden by establishing that the police, following routine procedures, would inevitably have uncovered the evidence. Vasquez De Reyes, 149 F.3d at 195. The inevitable discovery analysis focuses on historical facts capable of ready verification, not speculation. Id.; see Nix, 467 U.S. at 444 n. 5, 104 S.Ct. 2501. As the District Court concluded, the Government has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that routine police procedures inevitably would have led to the discovered child pornography. Although the first federal search warrant mistakenly called for searching the 40 GB hard drive rather than the 120 GB hard drive, the file names in the Kazvid folder Detective Vanadia opened still continued to provide probable cause to obtain a valid warrant to search the 120 GB hard drive. A lawful search of the 120 GB hard drive would have led to the videos of child pornography in the Kazvid folder. These videos, in turn, would have provided probable cause to obtain federal search warrants to search Stabile's five remaining hard drives for evidence of child pornography, including the illegally searched 40 GB hard drive. This conclusion is supported by historical facts capable of ready verification, and not speculation. Vasquez De Reyes, 149 F.3d at 195. As previously discussed, the Government lawfully obtained the state search warrant, and execution of the state search warrant exposed lurid file names and at least one video of child pornography. Thus, viewing affairs as they existed at the instant before the unlawful search, Vasquez De Reyes, 149 F.3d at 195, the Government had probable cause to obtain a warrant to conduct a full search of the 120 GB hard drive. In accordance with routine police procedures, the Government attempted to obtain the first federal search warrant before fully searching the 120 GB hard drive. Moreover, the Government sought the second federal search warrant before embarking on a search of Stabile's five remaining hard drives. As the District Court found, Albanese's application for the second federal search warrant [was] based on Agent Tokash's search of the 40 GB hard drive and the second federal search warrant issued based on probable cause supplied by the evidence discovered in Agent Tokash's search. Appx. at A-107-08. Although mistakes were made, proper execution of these routine procedures would have yielded evidence of child pornography. Moreover, the very fact that the Government attempted to secure state and federal search warrants at every step of the search indicates that there would be little deterrence benefit in punishing the Government. See Vasquez De Reyes, 149 F.3d at 195 (inevitable discovery doctrine permits the court to balance the public interest in providing a jury with all relevant and probative evidence in a criminal proceeding against society's interest in deterring unlawful police conduct). We conclude that the evidence obtained as a result of these illegal searches need not be suppressed because it inevitably would have been discovered.