Opinion ID: 3039908
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Proceedings in State and Federal Court

Text: Luong was indicted in California state court. He moved to suppress the evidence seized during the search of his residence and storage unit. The superior court suppressed the evidence and dismissed the indictment on the basis that the warrant lacked probable cause and the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule did not apply. The state appellate court affirmed the superior court’s dismissal. Luong was subsequently indicted in federal court for conspiring to manufacture and possess methamphetamine with UNITED STATES v. LUONG 19337 intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846; manufacturing and possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); and maintaining a place for manufacturing methamphetamine near an elementary school in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 856(a)(1) and 860. Luong filed a motion to suppress, contending that the warrant to search his residence was not supported by probable cause, and that the officers could not have relied on the warrant in good faith because the affidavit was so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official belief in its existence objectively unreasonable. The District Court held a hearing on Luong’s motion on January 11, 2005. The government argued that the court should factor the presence of exigent circumstances into its determination of whether the officers relied on the warrant in good faith. Officer Fishburn testified at the hearing that she was under time pressure to prepare the warrant because she believed Jao and Luong were fixing a broken drug lab, which could threaten the community with a chemical explosion or fire if the lab became functional. Officer Fishburn also cited technical difficulties in printing and faxing the warrant, and in typing the warrant due to a broken thumb and sprained wrist. She acknowledged on cross-examination, however, that other members of her team were available to type for her and that she could have continued typing herself. The government also argued that where evidence of probable cause is not sworn out in an affidavit but is orally conveyed to a magistrate, it may be considered by later courts in determining whether the officers acted in good faith. Officer Fishburn testified before the District Court that she spoke with the magistrate judge on the phone two or three times while preparing the affidavit. During these conversations, which were neither recorded nor sworn, she told the magistrate that the DEA’s Hong Kong office possibly initiated a wiretap, which may have been the source of the information relayed to the DEA in Los Angeles; that Jao was identified 19338 UNITED STATES v. LUONG with information from the tip as he passed through customs in Los Angeles; that the DEA did not want to divulge the fact that there was a wiretap in this case; and that the agents had observed counter-surveillance driving during their investigation. Officer Fishburn testified that she had not included this information in her affidavit because she had been rushed, but that “it should have been in there.” The District Court declined to factor into the good faith inquiry the additional information that Officer Fishburn testified she orally conveyed to the magistrate. The Court found that the warrant to search Luong’s home was not supported by probable cause and that the underlying affidavit was so lacking in indicia of probable cause that it was not objectively reasonable for an officer to rely on the warrant that issued. Accordingly, the Court issued an order suppressing the evidence seized from Luong’s residence and storage locker. The government now appeals that order.