Opinion ID: 2448553
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Heading: Legality of the Search Warrant

Text: Having decided that the warrantless search was illegal, we move to the question of that illegality's effect on the validity of the warrant. While the exclusionary rule prohibits the introduction of tangible and testimonial evidence derived from an unlawful search, such evidence may nonetheless be admissible if discovered through an independent source. See Murray v. United States, 487 U.S. 533, 108 S.Ct. 2529,101 L.Ed.2d 472 (1988). This tenet is referred to as the independent-source doctrine. Murray involved an illegal entry into a warehouse where all subsequent activity by the police officers was suspect. While unlawfully in the warehouse, the police officers observed bales of marijuana. They then sought a search warrant. The Court stated: The ultimate question, therefore, is whether the search pursuant to warrant was in fact a genuinely independent source of the information and tangible evidence at issue here. This would not have been the case if the agents' decision to seek the warrant was prompted by what they had seen during the illegal entry, or if information obtained during that entry was presented to the Magistrate and affected his decision to issue the warrant. Murray, 487 U.S. at 542, 108 S.Ct. at 2536. The first prong of Murray is usually approached by excising the offending information from the probable-cause affidavit and then determining whether the affidavit nevertheless supports the issuance of a search warrant. See United States v. Restrepo, 966 F.2d 964 (5th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1049, 113 S.Ct. 968, 122 L.Ed.2d 124 (1993); United States v. Herrold, 962 F.2d 1131 (3rd Cir.), cert. denied 506 U.S. 958, 113 S.Ct. 421, 121 L.Ed.2d 344 (1992). The affidavit in this case contained a wealth of information about the Williams's possible drug-trafficking activities. Even in the absence of the information obtained in the prior search, officers had detailed information from three confidential informants, plus the statement of Henry Glosemeyer, who had just come from the Williams's residence. Thus, the first prong of the Murray test weighs in favor of the validity of the warrant. The second prong of Murray focuses on the motivation of the officers in obtaining the warrant. A key consideration in determining this issue is the relative probative import of the information secured during the illegal search compared to all other information known to the officers. United States v. Restrepo, supra, at 972. While the police should not profit from illegal activity, neither should they be placed in a worse position than they would otherwise have occupied. Murray, 487 U.S. at 542, 108 S.Ct. at 2535-36. In the instant case, unlike the facts in Murray , there was no illegal entry. Kathlene Williams allowed the officers to enter the residence, and, while the officers testified that they informed Houston Williams that he could ask them to leave the residence at any time, he never requested that they do so. Furthermore, we think it significant that, when Officer Norman contacted the prosecutor's office about obtaining a warrant prior to entering the residence, he was advised that he lacked probable cause. Thus, we cannot agree that there was a complete absence of motivation on the part of the officers to seek a warrant prior to the lawful entry and subsequent illegal search. Immediately upon lawfully entering the house, Officer Norman observed a Smith & Wesson .9 millimeter automatic pistol on top of a dresser. While the officers were present, Ronald Fox, whom they had documented as dealing in methamphetamine, arrived at the home but would not enter the residence. This evidence, obtained prior to the illegal search, could be properly considered by the issuing magistrate. When asked at the suppression hearing to explain the basis for his request for a search warrant of the Williams residence, Officer Norman reviewed not the items seized from the illegal search, but the information received from the confidential informants, the statement acquired from Glosemeyer, and the surveillance conducted by officers. In light of this testimony, we cannot conclude that the officers were prompted to obtain the search warrant after obtaining the tainted information. In any event, as the officers collected ample information to support a search warrant, independent of and prior to the items found in the illegal search, we hold that the independent-source doctrine permitted the introduction of evidence seized after the search warrant. To hold otherwise, we would be placing the officers in a worse position than they would otherwise have occupied. Under these circumstances, we affirm the trial court's order upholding the validity of the warrant. Affirmed. NEWBERN and GLAZE, JJ., dissenting.