Opinion ID: 1391800
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: May defendant show omission from the affidavit?

Text: (1) In California a facially valid search warrant affidavit may be attacked on grounds that it contains deliberate or negligent misstatements. The rule arises both from our Constitution's guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure and from statutes regarding suppression of illegally obtained evidence. (Cal. Const., art. 1, § 13; Pen. Code, §§ 1538.5-1540; People v. Cook (1978) 22 Cal.3d 67, 74 [148 Cal. Rptr. 605, 583 P.2d 130]; Theodor v. Superior Court (1972) 8 Cal.3d 77, 100-101 [104 Cal. Rptr. 226, 501 P.2d 234].) [2] It rests upon the constitutional preference for warrants, which presupposes that probable cause determinations will be made independently by neutral, fully informed judicial officers rather than by the police. A misinforming affidavit hinders the magistrate's inference-drawing powers and increases the likelihood that privacy will be invaded without probable cause. ( Cook, supra, 22 Cal.3d at pp. 81-82; see Aguilar v. Texas (1964) 378 U.S. 108, 110-111 [12 L.Ed.2d 723, 726, 84 S.Ct. 1509]; Johnson v. United States (1948) 333 U.S. 10, 13-14 [92 L.Ed. 436, 440, 68 S.Ct. 367]; Theodor, supra, 8 Cal.3d at pp. 90-91, fn. 6, 96.) This court in Theodor recognized that similar difficulties might arise when an affidavit simply fails to include information which might otherwise negate a finding of probable cause. (8 Cal.3d at p. 96, fn. 11; see also Cook, supra, 22 Cal.3d at p. 92.) The Courts of Appeal have consistently held that an affidavit may be insufficient when it omits facts adverse to the warrant application. ( People v. Neusom (1977) 76 Cal. App.3d 534, 538-539 [143 Cal. Rptr. 27]; Morris v. Superior Court (1976) 57 Cal. App.3d 521, 526 [129 Cal. Rptr. 238]; People v. Barger (1974) 40 Cal. App.3d 662, 668-669 [115 Cal. Rptr. 298]; see People v. Webb (1973) 36 Cal. App.3d 460, 470-471 [111 Cal. Rptr. 524].) (2) Now directly faced with the issue, in general we endorse those holdings. An affidavit may be as inaccurate when it omits facts as when it misstates them. The crucial, inference-drawing powers of the magistrate may be equally hindered in either case, with identical consequences for innocent privacy. (See Moylan, Hearsay and Probable Cause: An Aguilar and Spinelli Primer (1974) 25 Mercer L.Rev. 741, 749.) We therefore conclude that the California Constitution and statutes permit defendant to attack a facially sufficient warrant affidavit on grounds that, though it contains no affirmative falsehoods, it is incomplete.