Opinion ID: 1837108
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: whether the trial court erred in failing to suppress the fruits of a search conducted by law officers pursuant to a telephonic search warrant as said search was the same as a warrantless search and violated the relevant provisions of the united states and mississippi constitutions.

Text: ¶ 6. White contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion in limine to exclude the fruits of what he alleges was an illegal search. It is true that the officers did not have a paper warrant when they searched White's apartment. They had, however, received approval of the search from a county judge resulting from a phone call by one of the officers to the judge. ¶ 7. While not statutorily provided for in Mississippi, telephonic search warrants could possibly act as a buffer against warrantless searches which often undermine Fourth Amendment protections. In the trial court's ruling as to the reasonableness of the search, the judge stated his belief that this Court would prefer a finding of probable cause by a neutral and detached magistrate telephonically in a situation where the only other alternative would be a warrantless search. While this may be true, there are other problems with this procedure which warrants a detailed examination and discussion by this Court. If exigent circumstances existed so as to preclude obtaining a proper search warrant, as long as the officers were in good faith in their request and followed other procedural safeguards, evidence found as a result of the issuance of a telephonic search warrant would be admissible at trial. However, nothing under current Mississippi law provides for this type of search warrant. ¶ 8. White argues that to uphold the telephonic search warrant would be a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 3, Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution. Though Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure sets out procedures to obtain a telephonic search warrant, we have no such rule, and our state constitution says nothing about such warrants. White also submits that in the absence of a specific statute, telephonic search warrants are contrary to the applicable law of Mississippi and that the search of his apartment should be treated as a warrantless search. ¶ 9. It is for this Court as the final interpreter of Mississippi's Constitution to determine the legality of this type of search. Penick v. State, 440 So.2d 547, 551 (Miss.1983). This Court finds that the search was a warrantless search, as Mississippi has yet to recognize the viability of telephonic warrants. In Boyd v. State, 206 Miss. 573, 40 So.2d 303 (1949), we reversed a conviction based on the illegality of a warrant. There the officer had signed the affidavit at his office, and a judge in another county signed off on the warrant. The officer never appeared before the judge, and thus the warrant was illegally obtained. We note that the process of appearing before the judge is important in Mississippi. The current status of our law requires the affiant's and the affidavit's presence before the issuing magistrate before a search warrant may properly issue. See Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-157(a)(2) (2001). The form of an affidavit for a search warrant also indicates the presence of the affiant at issuance. See Miss.Code Ann. § 99-25-15 (2000). Thus, by requiring a sworn affidavit before issuance of a warrant, we insure the affidavit is free from facts which might be discovered later and included in a subsequently filed affidavit to support the finding of probable cause. Whiteley v. Warden, 401 U.S. 560, 91 S.Ct. 1031, 28 L.Ed.2d 306 (1971). ¶ 10. In the case sub judice, no recording was made of the phone call in which this search warrant was authorized, and no paper copy of the search warrant existed at the time of the search. There does exist a document made under oath in this record which resembles a search warrant affidavit, executed by the narcotics officer the day after this search. Also in the record is a warrant bearing the judge's signature which also was executed the day afterwards. ¶ 11. The several states that have accepted telephonic warrants require specific procedures most of which were not met here. The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure allow for such warrants, and map out a procedure complying with constitutional mandates. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 41. Such a process should certainly be allowed considering the changing times and advancements in technology. Further, more than one-third of the States have expressly adopted such warrants by statute, court rule or case law. See generally Ala. R.Crim. P. 3.8(b); Alaska Stat. §§ 12.35.010 and 12.35.015 (1991); Ariz. Rev.Stat. § 13-3914 (1999); Cal.Penal Code § 1526 (1998); Idaho Code § 19-4404 (1994); Ind.Code § 35-33-5-8 (1998); Iowa Code § 321J.10 (1998); § 462A.14D (2000) (However, these two code sections allow for telephonic warrants in cases where an officer is demanding blood or urine specimens from those suspected of driving or operating a boat while under the influence. Iowa does not authorize telephonic search warrants in general cases. See Iowa Code § 808.3 (1998)); Kan. Stat. Ann. § 22-2502 (1995); La.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art 162.1 (1999); Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 780.651 (1998); Minn. R.Crim. P. 36.08; State v. Andries, 297 N.W.2d 124 (Minn.1980); Mont.Code Ann. § 46-5-221 (1991); Neb.Rev.Stat. §§ 29-814.03 & 29-814.05 (2001); Nev.Rev.Stat. 179.045(2) (1997); N.J. Rules of Court 3:5-3; N.Y.Crim. Pro. Law §§ 690.35 & 690.36 (1998); N.C. Gen. Stat Ann. § 15A-244, 245 (2001) ( See Criminal Code Commission Commentary); N.D. R.Crim. P. 41(c)(2); Or.Rev.Stat. § 133.545(5) (1999); S.D. Codified Laws § 23a-35-5 (2001); Utah Code Ann. § 77-23-204(2) (1998); Wash. Sup.Ct. Crim. R. 2.3(c); Wis. Stat. Ann. § 968.12(3) (1998). ¶ 12. Nonetheless, that is not the current state of the law in Mississippi. We note that in our sister states telephonic search warrants are primarily a creature of statute. Where they have been accepted in the ordinary course of police investigation, certain specific safeguards exist in these jurisdictions to insure authenticity and proper issuance upon the finding of probable cause. Typical of these safeguards are the requirements: ( l ) that the entire telephone conversation be recorded; (2) that the officer seeking the warrant is placed under oath by the impartial magistrate while the officer relates the facts supporting a finding of probable cause; and (3) that a paper copy is prepared and provided to the premises owner-either by means of facsimile machine or by requiring the magistrate to read aloud word-for-word the contents of the search warrant he or she has authorized for copying by the officer executing the warrant. See generally ABA Criminal Justice Section, Guidelines for the Issuance of Search Warrants 73-76 (1990). Telephonic search warrants are constitutionally infirm absent the existence of procedural safeguards and compliance with them. See United States v. Richardson, 943 F.2d 547, 549 (5th Cir. 1991). Thus, we find that the search here was a warrantless search. ¶ 13. We decline to accept telephonic search warrants as valid. We hold that it is for the Legislature to create a statutory procedure for telephonic search warrants providing a constitutionally sound method to procure such a search warrant to properly issue using existing procedure. Here, we conclude that the telephonic search warrant is merely one action of the officer to be examined by this Court as to whether the officers acted reasonably under the circumstances then existing. ¶ 14. Nonetheless, while the search was a warrantless search, it is possible that a warrantless search can be found reasonable. The United States Supreme Court has found that the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule should not be applied to bar the use in the prosecution's case-in-chief of evidence obtained by officers acting in reasonable reliance on a search warrant issued by a detached and neutral magistrate but ultimately found to be invalid. United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984). Mississippi has yet to determine whether such a good faith exception applies under its own law. In Leon, the Court held: [W]here the officer's conduct is objectively reasonable, `excluding the evidence will not further the ends of the exclusionary rule in any appreciable way; for it is painfully apparent that ... the officer is acting as a reasonable officer would and should act in similar circumstances. Excluding the evidence can in no way affect his future conduct unless it is to make him less willing to do his duty. Id. at 919-20, 104 S.Ct. 3405 (quoting Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 539-40, 96 S.Ct. 3037, 49 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1976) (White, J., dissenting)). ¶ 15. The proper application of the good faith exception to the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule was reiterated by the Fifth Circuit: The [U.S. Supreme] Court has stated that the exclusionary rule should not be applied to suppress evidence if the evidence was obtained by officers acting in objectively reasonable reliance on a subsequently invalidated search warrant. However, this good faith exception does not apply if: (1) in issuing the warrant the magistrate is misled by information in the affidavit that the affiant knows is false or would have known was false except for his reckless disregard of the truth; (2) the issuing magistrate wholly abandons his judicial role; (3) the warrant is based on an affidavit so lacking in indicia of probable cause that official belief in its existence is entirely unreasonable; or, (4) the warrant is so facially deficient in failing to particularize the place to be searched and things to be seized that the executing officers cannot reasonably presume it to be valid. United States v. Russell, 960 F.2d 421, 423 (5th Cir.1992) (citations omitted) (applying good faith exception where warrant was procedurally defective); see United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 922-23, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984) (adopting good faith exception to Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule). ¶ 16. In the present case, the officers had obtained warrants via telephone from another judge on previous occasions, leading them to mistakenly believe that this procedure was valid. As we have stated above, it is not. However, since the officers in this case did not have the benefit of this opinion, we find that they acted in good faith in obtaining their procedurally defective warrant. Cf. State v. Spivey, 675 So.2d 1335, 1339 (Ala.Crim.App.1994) (applying good faith exception where judge telephonically expanded scope of warrant). ¶ 17. Because we find in reviewing the record that the police officers believed in good faith that their telephonic warrant was valid, we find that the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule is applicable in this case. None of the enumerated-above restrictions on its application is present on the facts before us. ¶ 18. We note that a majority of this Court obliquely avoided an opportunity to adopt this exception sixteen years ago. Stringer v. State, 491 So.2d 837, 840 (Miss. 1986). In a concurring opinion joined by two other justices, Justice Robertson criticized the majority for not specifically addressing Leon, and argued that this Court was not obligated to follow Leon by either the federal Constitution or our state constitution. Id. at 841, 846-50 (Robertson, J., concurring). While it remains true that we are not obliged to adopt the good faith exception, we find that the legal and policy arguments favoring its adoption (as enunciated in Leon ) are persuasive. Moreover, the majority's refusal to rely on Leon in Stringer is not a precedential force against our adopting Leon today, since the Stringer Court had an alternative ground available by which to affirm the trial court's admission of evidence. No such alternative is available in the present case. Further, by merely alluding to Leon without so much as naming it or its holding, the Stringer majority clearly chose not to close the door on Leon, as Justice Robertson's concurrence urged it to do. ¶ 19. We find that the conclusions these officers made in the field with limited time and information to be reasonable under the circumstances. The officers were attempting to prevent the destruction of evidence instead of effectuating arrest and seizure. We conclude that the officers reasonably believed in good faith they had a valid telephonic search warrant and were acting reasonably. Therefore, we find that Leon is applicable. ¶ 20. Today, we adopt the Leon good faith exception to warrantless searches and further find that it applies to the case at bar. The officer stated that a district attorney had informed them in police procedures training that such warrants were permissible under appropriate circumstances. Further, the officer stated that he had obtained such a warrant on one or two prior occasions. Beyond that, the oral statement was given under oath to a neutral magistrate. More importantly, the following morning, the officer filled out a written warrant and record of the telephone conversation and presented it to the authorizing judge. Thus, a follow up procedure utilizing some, though admittedly not all, of the generally recognized safeguards was used here. Instead of immediately entering the apartment and conducting a warrantless search, these officers did their duty by pursuing a more careful, prudent course. Thus, the officers had a reasonable good faith belief that they were executing a valid warrant, and the exclusionary rule should not operate in this case. ¶ 21. The Leon Court did enumerate four circumstances under which any officer should know better than to proceed on a warrant, no matter what the magistrate tells him: Suppression therefore remains an appropriate remedy if [1] the magistrate or judge in issuing a warrant was misled by information in an affidavit that the affiant knew was false or would have known was false except for his reckless disregard of the truth. The exception we recognize today will also not apply in cases where [2] the issuing magistrate wholly abandoned his judicial role in the manner condemned in Lo-Ji Sales, Inc. v. New York, 442 U.S. 319, 99 S.Ct. 2319, 60 L.Ed.2d 920 (1979); in such circumstances, no reasonably well trained officer should rely on the warrant. Nor would an officer manifest objective good faith in relying on [3] a warrant based on an affidavit so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official belief in its existence entirely unreasonable. Finally, depending on the circumstances of the particular case, [4] a warrant may be so facially deficient i.e., in failing to particularize the place to be searched or the things to be seized that the executing officers cannot reasonably presume it to be valid. 468 U.S. at 923, 104 S.Ct. 3405 (citations omitted & boldfaced numerals added). None of these exceptions goes to a purely formal issue like whether the warrant was issued on paper or via telephone, fax, or e-mail. The exclusionary rule does not achieve its purpose when evidence is barred, and criminals go free, merely because the form of the warrant was improper in some respect. Id. at 915-17, 104 S.Ct. 3405. Only when the exclusionary rule can have some meaningful effect is it to be applied: Suppressing evidence obtained pursuant to a technically defective warrant supported by probable cause also might encourage officers to scrutinize more closely the form of the warrant and to point out suspected judicial errors. We find such arguments speculative and conclude that suppression of evidence obtained pursuant to a warrant should be ordered only on a case-by-case basis and only in those unusual cases in which exclusion will further the purposes of the exclusionary rule. Id. at 918, 104 S.Ct. 3405. ¶ 22. In a companion case to Leon, the Court even more emphatically held that a technical deficiency should not trigger the exclusionary rule: we refuse to rule that an officer is required to disbelieve a judge who has just advised him, by word and by action, that the warrant he possesses authorizes him to conduct the search he has requested. Massachusetts v. Sheppard, 468 U.S. 981, 989-90, 104 S.Ct. 3424, 82 L.Ed.2d 737 (1984). The Court went on to state: An error of constitutional dimensions may have been committed with respect to the issuance of the warrant, but it was the judge, not the police officers, who made the critical mistake. [T]he exclusionary rule was adopted to deter unlawful searches by police, not to punish the errors of magistrates and judges. Id. at 990, 104 S.Ct. 3424 (quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 263, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983)). ¶ 23. Noting the deference allowed to the trial court, and the situation presented below, we find that the search was reasonable under the Leon good faith exception. The trial court, even in the absence of a state statute regarding telephonic search warrants, properly upheld the search as a reasonable warrantless search. Thus, the trial court is affirmed.