Opinion ID: 513263
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Betts's Remaining Contentions

Text: 63 Betts's remaining two contentions require little discussion. He argues that the government failed to comply with Rule 41(a), Fed.R.Crim.P., which provides that a search warrant may be issued upon request of a federal law enforcement officer or an attorney for the government. Betts insists that the record lacks any evidence that the request for the search warrant was made by a federal law enforcement officer or a government attorney. We disagree. 64 Although Sergeant Swain, a state officer, signed the affidavit in support of the search warrant, the warrant was issued to Laurence Courtney, a federal law enforcement officer. Moreover, the district court found that an Assistant United States Attorney accompanied Swain to the magistrate to obtain the warrant. This adequately satisfies the requirements of Rule 41(a). See United States v. Carra, 604 F.2d 1271, 1273 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 994, 100 S.Ct. 529, 62 L.Ed.2d 425 (1979). 65 Lastly, Betts contends that Swain's affidavit in support of the warrant contained false statements made knowingly or intentionally, or with reckless disregard for the truth. In Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978), the Supreme Court ruled that a search warrant must be voided and the fruits of the search excluded if a defendant shows by a preponderance of the evidence that a warrant affidavit includes a false statement made knowingly and intentionally or with reckless disregard for the truth and if, with the affidavit's false material excluded, the affidavit is insufficient to establish probable cause. Id. at 155-56, 98 S.Ct. at 2676-77. The district court concluded that Betts failed to meet this standard, and we see no reason to disturb that ruling. Even assuming the presence of inaccurate information in the affidavit, the remaining portions are sufficient to base a finding of probable cause. 66