Opinion ID: 165607
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Affidavit Lacking Indicia of Probable Cause

Text: 14 Mr. Gonzales also argues that the affidavit was wholly lacking in indicia of probable cause because it failed to establish any connection between the place to be searched and the suspected criminal activity — a felon in possession of a firearm. While the government concedes the affidavit was so lacking, it argues that the purposes served by the [Fourth] Amendment were advanced by the professionalism of the officer in seeking the warrant, and in complying with its command. Aplt. Br. at 11. Specifically, the government asserts exclusion is not proper here because the officer prepared an affidavit, he had it reviewed by his supervisory sergeant, he had it presented to an assistant district attorney, and only then did he submit it to a magistrate. Id. at 16-17. 15 We agree the detective employed a reasonable process in seeking the warrant; however, this fact alone does not establish good faith reliance. While officers are generally entitled to rely on the magistrate's judgment, they are also required to exercise their own professional judgment. Indeed, law enforcement officials are presumed to have a reasonable knowledge of the law, Leon, 468 U.S. at 919 n. 20, 104 S.Ct. 3405, and we determine good faith in this context by considering whether a reasonably well trained officer would have known that the search was illegal despite the magistrate's authorization. Id. at 922 n. 23, 104 S.Ct. 3405. Under this standard, when the underlying documents are devoid of factual support, an officer cannot be said to have relied on them in good faith. Corral-Corral, 899 F.2d at 939; accord Danhauer, 229 F.3d at 1006. 16 Here, Detective Gonzales's affidavit listed the address of the place to be searched in the caption and described the residence with particularity; however, there were no facts explaining how the address was linked to Mr. Gonzales, the vehicle, or the suspected criminal activity, or why the officer thought the items to be seized would be located at the residence. Rather, besides the physical description of the address, the only facts before the magistrate were that Mr. Gonzales was a convicted felon and a Glock 10mm magazine was found in a vehicle in which he was the only occupant. The only attempt at a connection was the detective's assertion that in his experience, firearm [sic] are often kept at the residence. 17 The Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc, recently addressed a similar situation in United States v. Carpenter, 360 F.3d 591 (6th Cir.2004) (en banc). In Carpenter, officers observed a marijuana patch via helicopter and sought a warrant to search the suspects' residence. In the affidavit, the officers detailed the investigation and specified the address, but they failed to show that the residence belonged to the suspects. 360 F.3d at 593. Despite this failing, the Sixth Circuit held that the officers relied on the warrant in good faith because the affidavit established a minimally sufficient nexus between the illegal activity and the place to be searched as the facts provided showed the marijuana patch was growing near the residence and there was a pathway between the residence and the plants. Id. at 596. The court reasoned that while probable cause requires a substantial nexus, good faith is proper whenever there is a minimal nexus. Id.; see also United States v. Van Shutters, 163 F.3d 331, 336-38 (6th Cir.1998) (finding good faith when affidavit failed to identify residence as belonging to suspect, but detailed the officer's counterfeiting investigation and specified the residence was available to the suspect). 18 On the other hand, in United States v. Hove, 848 F.2d 137 (9th Cir.1988), the Ninth Circuit held that good faith reliance was lacking where the supporting affidavit failed to provide any connection between the residence subject to search and the suspect or suspected criminal activity. In Hove, officers suspected a woman of sending bomb threats to her ex-husband and sought a warrant to search the place in which they believed she was living. Id. at 138-39. However, none of the facts supporting the officers' belief that the woman lived at the address to be searched were included in the affidavit. In rejecting the government's good faith argument, the court stated, the affidavit offer[ed] no hint as to why the police wanted to search this residence. The affidavit ... [did] not offer an explanation of why the police believed they may find incriminating evidence there; the affidavit simply list [ed] the ... address as the location to be searched. Id. at 139-40. See also Janis v. Virginia, 22 Va.App. 646, 472 S.E.2d 649 (1996) (holding good faith reliance did not exist where affidavit failed to state facts linking place to be searched with suspected criminal activity). 19 We agree with the Sixth Circuit that good faith may exist when a minimal nexus between the place to be searched and the suspected criminal activity is established. However, this showing is absent here. Like Hove, the affidavit in this case completely failed to explain why the detective believed the items sought would be found at 321 E. Church. And even though we have previously held that courts may properly rely on an officer's experience in finding probable cause, Corral-Corral, 899 F.2d at 937; United States v. One Hundred Forty-Nine Thousand Four Hundred Forty-Two and 43/100 Dollars in U.S. Currency, 965 F.2d 868, 874 (10th Cir.1992), here, the detective's generically stated experience — that firearm [sic] are often kept at the residence — was not supported by any facts establishing the residence belonged to or was otherwise linked to Mr. Gonzales. Where we have relied on similar statements, it was clear the place to be searched was the suspect's residence; thus, giving meaning to officer's statement. See One Hundred Forty-Nine Thousand Four Hundred Forty-Two and 43/100 Dollars in U.S. Currency, 965 F.2d at 874 (relying on officer's experience that drug dealers often keep records and transaction information at their residence where it was clear the place being searched was the suspected dealer's house). But where this connection is lacking, as it is here, we find this information, in and of itself, of little value. 20 For good faith to exist, there must be some factual basis connecting the place to be searched to the defendant or suspected criminal activity. When this connection is wholly absent, the affidavit and resulting warrant are so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official belief in its existence entirely unreasonable. Leon, 468 U.S. at 923, 104 S.Ct. 3405. Exclusion is appropriate in such circumstances because reasonably well-trained officers, exercising their own professional judgment, will be able to recognize the deficiency. Here, the warrant was so lacking, and the officer's reliance upon it was not objectively reasonable. 21 AFFIRMED.