Opinion ID: 3049103
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Application to Diaz’s case

Text: [5] The district court found that government agents had enough information to reasonably believe Diaz was home UNITED STATES v. DIAZ 7553 when they entered his house on February 23, 2005. We agree. Diaz himself had told government agents that he was usually home during the day. Agents also knew that Diaz worked at home as a mechanic. Agents had visited Diaz’s home several times before, and he was absent only one of those times. All of this information suggests that Diaz, on an ordinary day, would be home during daylight hours, which is when the agents came to arrest him. [6] Even so, Diaz argues that on the day of his arrest, agents could not have reasonably believed he was home because there were too many clues that he was gone. We disagree. At most, there were some signs that Diaz might be gone, but nothing so definite that it would be unreasonable to think Diaz was home. Agents did not see Diaz on his property, but that was not surprising: Diaz had covered his windows with blankets, and the dogs and surveillance cameras prevented the agents from safely and unobtrusively observing the property. No one answered the door when the agents knocked, but Diaz once had taken about 45 minutes to answer the door. Diaz’s black SUV was not in view, but agents had previously encountered Diaz at the house without seeing his car, so its absence did not mean Diaz was not at home. In fact, agents later found the SUV in a nearby shed. A red SUV drove away from the house while the agents watched, but they did not recognize the SUV. Furthermore, they only saw one unidentified person in the SUV, and they had seen two people in front of Diaz’s house. They assumed that one person remained, and they assumed that it was Diaz. It is hard to blame the agents for not stopping the car: They believed Diaz was still in his house, and they knew Diaz received frequent visitors during the day. [7] Diaz also argues that reasonable belief cannot exist unless the government has some specific evidence that the suspect is present at the particular times that officers come to arrest him. We disagree with that proposition, as well. People draw “reasonable” conclusions all the time without direct evi7554 UNITED STATES v. DIAZ dence. Indeed, juries frequently convict defendants of crimes on circumstantial evidence alone. See, e.g., United States v. Yoshida, 303 F.3d 1145, 1151 (9th Cir. 2002) (“[C]ircumstantial evidence can form a sufficient basis for conviction.”) Likewise, a probable cause determination can be supported entirely by circumstantial evidence. See, e.g., United States v. Spearman, 532 F.2d 132 (9th Cir. 1976) (circumstantial evidence may justify search warrant). If juries can find someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt without direct evidence, and magistrates can issue search warrants without direct evidence, police surely can reasonably believe someone is home without direct evidence.