Opinion ID: 1983594
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the search warrant affidavit

Text: The defendant's first claim is that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress certain items of evidence seized from the defendant pursuant to a search warrant. He asserts that the search warrant for these items was based upon an affidavit that contained deliberate false statements which if removed would render the affidavit insufficient to establish probable cause for a search warrant to issue. We disagree. In Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 155-56, 98 S. Ct. 2674, 57 L. Ed. 2d 667 (1978), the United States Supreme Court held that where the defendant makes a substantial preliminary showing that a false statement knowingly and intentionally, or with reckless disregard for the truth, was included by the affiant in the warrant affidavit, and if the allegedly false statement is necessary to the finding of probable cause, the Fourth Amendment requires that a hearing be held at the defendant's request. In the event that at that hearing the allegation of perjury or reckless disregard is established by the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence, and, with the affidavit's false material set to one side, the affidavit's remaining content is insufficient to establish probable cause, the search warrant must be voided and the fruits of the search excluded to the same extent as if probable cause was lacking on the face of the affidavit. Although the court in Franks mentioned only false statements ... included ... in the warrant affidavit, material omissions from such an affidavit also fall within the rule if the defendant proves that the omissions were knowingly and intentionally made, or were made with reckless disregard for the accuracy of the affidavit. United States v. Martin, 615 F.2d 318, 328 (5th Cir. 1980). In this case, the defendant's challenge to the accuracy of the search warrant affidavit was made as part of a motion to suppress which also included several other claims not relevant to this appeal. The defendant claims that information presented in two paragraphs of the search warrant affidavit of Troopers James M. Cavanaugh and James Daloisio contained deliberate falsehoods concerning statements made by the defendant at two interviews conducted on May 9, one at the defendant's home at 5:30 p.m. and another at the police barracks at 8:30 p.m. The defendant's brief is vague about precisely what statements or omissions he considers to have been false. The only clear assertion is that a paragraph, relating to the first interview, contains the defendant's statement that he arrived home from the victim's house at 10:30 to 10:45 a.m., whereas that statement was made only during the second interview. Daloisio admitted at the hearing on the motion to suppress [2] that the statement was not made at the 5:30 p.m. interview, but rather at the 8:30 p.m. interview. It is not enough, however, for the defendant to show an error in an affidavit. The error must be shown by a preponderance of the evidence to have been knowingly and intentionally false or made with reckless disregard for the truth. Franks v. Delaware, supra, 155. Allegations of negligence or innocent mistake are insufficient to require a reevaluation of the affidavit. Id., 171. The trial court in this case found that [t]here was no showing of any intent on the part of Daloisio to intentionally mislead the judge, or that he acted with reckless disregard for the truth. We may reject this finding only if it is clearly erroneous. Practice Book § 3060D. Nothing before us indicates that the finding is unsupported by the record, incorrect or otherwise mistaken; Kaplan v. Kaplan, 186 Conn. 387, 391, 441 A.2d 629 (1982); and we cannot find it to be clearly erroneous. [3] In view of this specific finding, the trial court correctly denied the motion to suppress.