Opinion ID: 2998904
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Doctrine of Good Faith

Text: Even if we were to conclude that the information in the affidavit does not demonstrate probable cause that contraband would be found in Mr. Sidwell’s apartment, suppression would be appropriate only if the officer lacked good faith in relying on an invalidated search warrant. See United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 920-22 (1984). We review de novo the district court’s legal conclusion that the officer in this case reasonably, and therefore in good faith, relied upon the search warrant. Peck, 317 F.3d at 757. Officer Hasse’s decision to seek a warrant is prima facie evidence that he was acting in good faith. Id. A defendant may rebut this prima facie evidence only by establishing that the warrant issuer “wholly abandoned his judicial role” or that the affidavit was “so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official belief in its No. 05-2189 7 existence entirely unreasonable.” Olson, 408 F.3d at 372 (quotation marks omitted). Mr. Sidwell does not allege that the Rock County Commissioner who issued the warrant abandoned his judicial role. Instead, he submits that the affidavit was patently lacking in indicia of probable cause and, because Officer Hasse swore out the affidavit, he should have known that he could not rely on the warrant. We cannot accept this submission. As explained above, the controlled buy, the informant’s description of Mr. Sidwell’s apartment unit and the drug paraphernalia in the hallway outside of Mr. Sidwell’s apartment provided Officer Hasse with, at a minimum, indicia of illegal drug dealing in that apartment. The officers’ reliance on the warrant was therefore in good faith.