Opinion ID: 201110
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Participation of Lyver and Minnis in the Searches

Text: 19 Federal constitutional law does not proscribe the use of civilians in searches. In fact, Congress has explicitly authorized the practice, see 18 U.S.C. § 3105 (A search warrant may in all cases be served by any of the officers mentioned in its direction ..., but by no other person, except in aid of the officer on his requiring it, he being present and acting in its execution.), and courts have repeatedly upheld the practice. See, e.g., Bills v. Aseltine, 958 F.2d 697, 706 (6th Cir.1992) (Police may constitutionally call upon private citizens to assist them, and where assistance is rendered in aid of a warrant ... the bounds of reasonableness have not been overstepped.); United States v. Clouston, 623 F.2d 485, 486-87 (6th Cir.1980) (upholding search in which federal agents brought telephone company employees with them on a search to identify stolen property). Courts have articulated guidelines for evaluating police involvement of citizens in searches under the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness standard. The civilian must have been serving a legitimate investigative function. It is impermissible, for example, for a civilian to ride along with officers in furtherance of his own private interest. See Wilson, 526 U.S. at 613-14, 119 S.Ct. 1692 (holding that officers violated a defendant's Fourth Amendment rights by inviting a news crew along on a search); Buonocore v. Harris, 65 F.3d 347, 356 (4th Cir.1995) ([W]e have no doubt that the Fourth Amendment prohibits government agents from allowing a search warrant to be used to facilitate a private individual's independent search of another's home for items unrelated to those specified in the warrant. Such a search is not `reasonable.'); Bills, 958 F.2d at 702 (suppressing evidence discovered by a security guard who was present, not in aid of the officers or their mission, but for his own purposes involving the recovery of ... property not mentioned in any warrant). Also, the officers must have some demonstrable need for the presence of the civilian. United States v. Sparks, 265 F.3d 825, 832 (9th Cir.2001) (Police cannot invite civilians to perform searches on a whim; there must be some reason why a law enforcement officer cannot himself conduct the search and some reason to believe that postponing the search until an officer is available might raise a safety risk.). 20 The record demonstrates that Sergeant Lyver requested assistance from Powers and Minnis because he felt that he did not have the necessary technical expertise to conduct the search on his own and because he believed that the 3-Com officials would be able to help him identify the items that belonged to the company. See Wilson, 526 U.S. at 611-12, 119 S.Ct. 1692 (Where the police enter a home under the authority of a warrant to search for stolen property, the presence of third parties for the purpose of identifying the stolen property has long been approved by this Court and our common-law tradition.); Sparks, 265 F.3d at 831 (`Where the civilian participating in the execution of a search warrant is the victim of a theft who has been requested by police to point out property that has been stolen from the victim, the courts have unanimously held that the civilian's presence did not affect the propriety of the search.') (quoting Diane Schmauder Kane, Civilian Participation in Execution of Search Warrant as Affecting Legality of Search, 68 A.L.R.5th 549, § 3(b) (1999)). There is no indication that Powers and Minnis participated in the searches to further their own personal ends, nor is there a suggestion in the record that Sergeant Lyver could have delayed his search and obtained the necessary technical assistance from another officer. Knowing that Bellville had uncovered the investigation, Sergeant Lyver reasonably could have suspected that Bellville would have disposed of the 3-Com equipment if the search were delayed. Accordingly, we conclude that the civilian participation in the searches was reasonable.