Opinion ID: 3003685
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: A Franks Hearing

Text: Schultz next argues that the district court should have held a Franks hearing to test the validity of the affidavit that was used to obtain the search warrant for his home. We review a district court’s decision to deny a defendant a Franks hearing for clear error. United States v. McAllister, 18 F.3d 1412, 1416 (7th Cir. 1994). In order to obtain a Franks hearing, Schultz needed to make a “substantial preliminary showing” that the affiant had intentionally or recklessly included a false statement in the affidavit, and that the false statement was material, in the sense that it was necessary to find probable cause. Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 155-56 (1978). The standard is not whether the affidavit contains a false statement, but whether the affiant knew or should have known that a statement was false. United States v. Jones, 208 F.3d 603 (7th Cir. 2000). Here, the affiant stated that he relied on information provided by three “concerned citizen” witnesses, identified as Witnesses 1, 2, and 3. At a hearing before the district court, Schultz made an offer of proof regarding what he believed the evidence would show if he was granted a Franks hearing. Schultz offered to prove that 8 No. 09-1192 Witness 1 was his sister, who had an identified drug problem, may have been in police custody at the time she gave the statement, and was released after the affidavit was submitted; and Witness 3 was Schultz’s exwife who was involved in a child custody battle with him. Based on this information, Schultz contends that it was a misrepresentation for the affiant to identity these witnesses merely as “concerned citizens.” At the hearing to determine whether a Franks hearing was necessary, the district court asked: “Tell me why [the agent] should have known that, either of those things.” June 12, 2008 Tr. at 39. The defense responded, in part: “The agent was clearly talking to these two women . . . if he was looking into the background on the Defendant, as he was, and talking to the ex-wife and the sister, then he should have known.” Id. The district court found that Schultz failed to make an adequate showing for a Franks hearing. We do not find that the district court clearly erred in denying Schultz’s request to conduct a Franks hearing. A careful review of the record demonstrates that Schultz failed to show that the affiant intentionally or recklessly included false statements in his affidavit, or that the statements he asserts were false were material, in the sense that they were necessary to find probable cause.