Opinion ID: 374716
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Heading: A Topographical Exercise: The Facial Sufficiency of the Affidavit

Text: 16 The affidavit supporting the arrest warrant in this case consisted solely of hearsay accounts of information given to police officials by Jeffrey Martin, John Kral, and Ismael Rodriquez. In Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723, the Supreme Court set out the standards for evaluating the sufficiency of hearsay affidavits to establish probable cause. In finding that the affidavit present there could not constitutionally support the magistrate's probable cause determination, the court held: 17 Although an affidavit may be based on hearsay information and need not reflect the direct personal observations of the affiant, . . . the magistrate must be informed of (1) some of the underlying circumstances from which the informant concluded that the narcotics were where he claimed they were, and (2) some of the underlying circumstances from which the officer concluded that the informant, whose identity need not be disclosed, . . . was credible or his information reliable. Otherwise, the inferences from the facts which lead to the complaint will be drawn not by a neutral and detached magistrate, as the Constitution requires, but instead, by a police officer engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime, . . . or, as in this case, by an unidentified informant. 18 Id. 84 S.Ct. at 1514. (emphasis supplied) (citations omitted). 6 19 The twin requirements of Aguilar provide the basis for evaluating the facial sufficiency of an affidavit based on a hearsay account of an informant's tip. The essence of Aguilar is that the affidavit must state facts which allow the magistrate to determine independently whether probable cause for the issuance of a warrant exists. These facts must enable the magistrate to make two distinct determinations. First, the magistrate must be presented with the facts from which the informant concluded that some criminal activity was taking, or had taken, place. He must then assess these underlying facts to determine whether or not the inference of criminal activity is warranted. Second, the magistrate must be presented with facts which establish the probable credibility of the informant or the reliability of his information. Even if the first requirement is satisfied, the affidavit cannot establish probable cause unless it establishes a factual basis for crediting the informant's conclusion. Thus, if either of Aguilar 's requirements is not met, the affidavit cannot establish probable cause. See United States v. Harris, 403 U.S. 573, 91 S.Ct. 2075, 2079-80, 29 L.Ed.2d 723 (1971). We must now apply this two-pronged analysis to the affidavit before us.
20 The affidavit adequately sets forth the factual underpinnings for Kral and Rodriquez' conclusions that John Martin committed the crime. The tip from Kral reveals itself to be the product of his personal observation of Martin on the day of the robbery. The affidavit shows that he saw Martin with a brown paper bag full of banded money in his possession and heard Martin and Rodriquez discuss the bank robbery. Furthermore, the affidavit reveals Rodriquez' own involvement in the robbery and his personal observations of Martin's activities. This court has held that information derived from personal observation satisfies the first prong of Aguilar, see, e. g., United States v. Williams, 603 F.2d 1168, 1171 (5th Cir. 1979); United States v. Tucker, 526 F.2d 279, 281 (5th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 958, 96 S.Ct. 1738, 48 L.Ed.2d 203 (1976), particularly when the tipster reveals his personal involvement in the criminal undertaking. See United States v. Ashley, 569 F.2d 975, 981 (5th Cir. 1978) cert. denied, 439 U.S. 853, 99 S.Ct. 163, 58 L.Ed.2d 159 (1978). Because these portions of the affidavit thus set forth facts which would support the conclusion that John Martin committed the robbery, each is independently sufficient to satisfy Aguilar 's first prong. 21 The tip from Jeffrey Martin stands on a different footing. The affidavit reveals nothing about the source of his claimed knowledge. Standing alone, the information derived from him may represent nothing more than a casual rumor circulating in the underworld. Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 89 S.Ct. 584, 589, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969). Because of our disposition of this case, we need not determine whether it is saved by the corroboration it receives from the other tips. See id. 89 S.Ct. at 588-89.
22 Aguilar 's second requirement, as discussed above, is that the affidavit must set forth facts from which the magistrate can judge for himself the probable credibility of the informant or the reliability of his information. Martin argues that the affidavit does not state facts which would allow the magistrate to assess the credibility of any one of the informants or the reliability of his information. 23 A perusal of the affidavit discovers no affirmative allegation that any of the three informants was known to be reliable. 7 This type of allegation is not necessary, however, and, if not accompanied by supporting facts, is irrelevant. See United States v. Farese, 612 F.2d 1376, 1378 n.3 (5th Cir. 1980). There are several judicially-recognized methods of establishing the credibility of an informant and the reliability of his information. Perhaps the most intuitive and direct method has been to allege that the informant has previously given tips which proved to be correct. See, e. g., Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 80 S.Ct. 725, 736, 4 L.Ed.2d 697 (1960); United States v. Williams, supra, 603 F.2d at 1171; United States v. Tucker, supra, 526 F.2d at 281. But with first time informants, such as those involved here, this method is obviously not available; as this court has recognized, the reliability of first-time informants may thus be more difficult to establish. See, e. g., United States v. Ashley, supra, 569 F.2d at 981. To establish the credibility of such an informant or the reliability of his information, the affidavit may show other information within the affiant's knowledge to corroborate the tip, see, e. g., Spinelli v. United States, supra, 89 S.Ct. at 589-90; United States v. Squella-Avendano, 447 F.2d 575, 582 (5th Cir. 1971), cert. denied 404 U.S. 985, 92 S.Ct. 450, 30 L.Ed.2d 369 (1971); 8 or it may show that the informant's tip was against his penal interest, although this alone is not sufficient to establish reliability. See United States v. Ashley, supra, 569 F.2d at 981-82. The Government contends that the magistrate could credit the tips recited in the affidavit because they corroborate each other and, in the case of Rodriquez' tip, because it constitutes a statement against his penal interest. 9 24 Rodriquez' statement to Agent Kizer is against his penal interest. The affidavit reveals that Rodriquez admitted that he had been a party to the planning of the robbery, had planned to drive the getaway motorcycle, and later had met Martin at Kral's house and discussed the robbery. We have held, however, that, standing alone, a statement against penal interest is not enough to justify a finding of probable cause;  rather it is one of many cumulating factors to be considered. United States v. Ashley, supra, 569 F.2d at 982. 25 The facts of our case demonstrate even more clearly than those in Ashley why statements against penal interest cannot satisfy Aguilar 's second requirement without more. Whereas the court in Ashley noted that the declarant voluntarily came forward to supply information to the F.B.I., a factor which served to discount any inference that (the informant) was not reliable because he gave information to lessen any pressure on himself, id., in this case, the affidavit itself reveals nothing of the circumstances under which the admission was made. In fact, Martin showed in the suppression hearing that the F.B.I. sought Rodriquez out and initiated the interview, and Rodriquez testified at trial that he had been given immunity from prosecution. See Part B infra. Under these circumstances, there exists a danger that the informant sought to implicate another in order to curry the favor of the police and perhaps gain immunity for himself. While such motivations do not eliminate the residual risk and opprobrium of having admitted criminal conduct, United States v. Harris, supra, 91 S.Ct. at 2082, 10 they certainly make the declaration less reliable. Cf. United States v. Gonzalez, 559 F.2d 1271, 1273 (5th Cir. 1977) (excluding statement against penal interest under Fed.R.Evid. 804(b)(3) because declarant had been granted immunity from prosecution and because pressures from the prosecution and grand jury made it his best interest to make the statement). Thus, under Ashley, Rodriquez' statement against penal interest, although it is entitled to some weight, cannot alone establish his reliability under Aguilar. 26 Since Rodriquez' tip alone does not pass Aguilar, we turn to the Government's claim that the informants' tips sufficiently corroborate each other to establish their reliability. Spinelli provides the framework within which we evaluate this claim: 27 The informer's report must first be measured against Aguilar 's standards so that its probative value can be assessed. If the tip is found inadequate under Aguilar, the other allegations which corroborate the information contained in the hearsay report should then be considered. At this stage as well, however, the standards enunciated in Aguilar must inform the magistrate's decision. He must ask: Can it fairly be said that the tip, even when certain parts of it have been corroborated by independent sources, is as trustworthy as a tip which would pass Aguilar 's tests without independent corroboration? . . . A magistrate cannot be said to have properly discharged his constitutional duty if he relies on an informer's tip which even when partially corroborated is not as reliable as one which passes Aguilar 's requirements when standing alone. 28 Spinelli v. United States, supra, 89 S.Ct. at 588-89. 29 No one of the three tips recounted in the affidavit can stand alone under Aguilar 's second test since no one statement provides sufficient internal indicia of reliability. We must thus determine whether, when the tips are cumulated and the degree of their corroboration assessed, any one of the three is as trustworthy as a tip which would pass Aguilar 's tests without independent corroboration. Id. 30 Normally, when corroborative evidence is relied upon to validate a tip which is not alone sufficient, that evidence consists of independent verification by the police of details of the tip through their own investigation. See, e. g., Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959); United States v. Squella-Avendano, supra. 11 This court has held, however, that where informers give tips that substantially corroborate each other that factor helps establish the reliability of the tips. See United States v. Farese, supra, at 1379; United States v. Barham, 595 F.2d 231, 246 (5th Cir. 1979); United States v. Scott, 555 F.2d 522, 527 (5th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 985, 98 S.Ct. 610, 54 L.Ed.2d 478 (1977). But in the above-cited cases the government agents also reported that they had corroborated the tips by independent investigation. In contrast, in this case the affidavit discloses only the corroboration between the tips. Thus, here, we think it important under Spinelli to examine the degree of corroboration between the tips to determine whether it is sufficient to make any one of the tips reliable. We question, for example, whether or not this affidavit would be sufficient if it consisted solely of the statements from Kral and Jeffrey Martin. Certainly these accounts corroborate each other, but only in the most general terms. Jeffrey Martin's tip is devoid of any substance other than his bald conclusions that John Martin committed the crime and that Kral and Rodriquez had first-hand knowledge of that fact. We doubt that Kral's more factual statement could be made sufficiently reliable by its proximity to these merest of conclusions without other indicia of trustworthiness. 31 There are, however, strong reasons for crediting the tips from Kral and Rodriquez when they are considered in the full context of the affidavit. Rodriquez and Kral corroborated each other in close detail; both men independently recounted to Agent Kizer essentially identical descriptions of events which, they stated, occurred in their joint presence. Further, Jeffrey Martin's tip does give some additional weight, however slight, to their information. This degree of corroboration of Kral and Rodriquez' stories clearly reduced the chances of a reckless or prevaricating tale. Jones v. United States, supra, 80 S.Ct. at 736. 32 We need not determine whether this corroboration is of itself sufficient to establish the reliability under Aguilar of the information given by Kral and Rodriquez. Rather, we hold that when the affidavit is read as a whole the tip from Rodriquez is sufficiently reliable to satisfy Aguilar 's second prong. First, we give some weight to Rodriquez' statement against his penal interest. Second, the substantial corroboration of his tip by the other informants provides strong ground for crediting his story. United States v. Farese, supra, at 1379 n. 4. Taken together, these factors are enough to allow the magistrate to credit his information and thus to establish his trustworthiness under the second prong of Aguilar. As we have already shown, the affidavit adequately sets out the underlying facts from which Rodriquez concluded that Martin had committed the crime, thus satisfying the first prong of Aguilar. Because Rodriquez' tip thus satisfies both of Aguilar 's requirements, it establishes probable cause for Martin's arrest. 33