Opinion ID: 416957
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Particularity in the Description of the Items to be Seized.

Text: 27 The second major Fourth Amendment issue is whether the indicia warrants satisfied the Fourth Amendment requirement that warrants particularly describ[e] the ... things to be seized. Some items were described with specificity, such as Hells Angels leather and jean jackets, red Hells Angels T-shirts, a Hells Angels belt buckle, and photographs depicting the association of members of the Hells Angels. Other items were less specific, such as telephone books with the numbers of Hells Angels members (local and national) and papers relating to Hells Angels activities, expenditures, rules, and regulations. The broadest description was for items which give the names of members of the Hells Angels. 6 28
29 The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated the underlying considerations behind the particularity requirement. The requirement makes general searches ... impossible and prevents the seizure of one thing under a warrant describing another. As to what is to be taken, nothing is left to the discretion of the officer executing the warrant. Andresen v. Maryland, 427 U.S. 463, 480, 96 S.Ct. 2737, 2748, 49 L.Ed.2d 627 (1976), quoting Stanford v. Texas, 379 U.S. at 485, 85 S.Ct. at 511. See also United States v. Clark, 531 F.2d 928, 931 (8th Cir.1976). The problem posed by a general warrant is not of intrusion per se, but of a general, exploratory rummaging in a person's belongings. Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 467, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 2038, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971). In applying the particularity requirement, we recognize that the degree of specificity required is flexible and may vary depending on the circumstances and the type of items involved. United States v. Muckenthaler, 584 F.2d 240, 245 (8th Cir.1978). The Supreme Court has said: A seizure reasonable as to one type of material in one setting may be unreasonable in a different setting or with respect to another kind of material. Roaden v. Kentucky, 413 U.S. 496, 501, 93 S.Ct. 2796, 2799, 37 L.Ed.2d 757 (1973). 30 The district court, in finding that the indicia warrants met the particularity requirement, relied on United States v. Dennis, 625 F.2d 782 (8th Cir.1980) and Andresen, 427 U.S. 463, 96 S.Ct. 2737, 49 L.Ed.2d 627. Dennis dealt with a defendant charged with loansharking. Federal authorities obtained a search warrant for certain books and records (or items of evidence) relating to the extortionate credit transaction business. We held that the warrant in Dennis was valid because [w]here the precise identity of goods cannot be ascertained at the time the warrant is issued, naming only the generic class of items will suffice because less particularity can be reasonably expected than for goods (such as those stolen) whose exact identity is already known at the time of issuance. 625 F.2d at 792, quoting United States v. Johnson, 541 F.2d 1311, 1314 (8th Cir.1976); see also United States v. Coppage, 635 F.2d 683, 687 (8th Cir.1980) (warrant found valid which authorized search for books, records, chemical equipment, and personal papers relating to the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine). The language of the warrant in Dennis was very similar to that of the indicia warrants issued here. However, we must follow the principles of Roaden and Muckenthaler and examine the totality of the circumstances--including the First Amendment interests involved, the nature of the items to be seized, and the nature of an indicia warrant. 31
32 Appellants argue that we should examine the warrants with more scrutiny because First Amendment associational rights are involved. The Supreme Court has stated: Where the materials sought to be seized may be protected by the First Amendment, the requirements of the Fourth Amendment must be applied with 'scrupulous exactitude.'  Zurcher, 436 U.S. at 564, 98 S.Ct. at 1980, quoting Stanford v. Texas, 379 U.S. at 485, 85 S.Ct. at 511. In Stanford v. Texas, a warrant authorized the seizure of books, records, pamphlets, cards, receipts, lists, memoranda, pictures, recordings and other written instruments concerning the Communist Party of Texas. The Supreme Court held that the warrant was too broad, in violation of the Fourth Amendment particularity requirement. 379 U.S. at 478-80, 486, 85 S.Ct. at 508-09, 512. The Supreme Court stated: [T]he constitutional requirement that warrants must particularly describe the 'things to be seized' is to be accorded the most scrupulous exactitude when the 'things' are books, and the basis for their seizure is the ideas which they contain.... No less a standard could be faithful to First Amendment freedoms. 379 U.S. at 485, 85 S.Ct. at 511 (citations and footnote omitted). The language of the instant warrants is similar to that in the Stanford v. Texas warrant. 33 In Zurcher the scrupulous exactitude standard was applied. The Supreme Court upheld the search of a newspaper's office for photographs of a violent clash between demonstrators and police at the Stanford University Hospital. The Court emphasized that the scrupulous exactitude standard does not erect a barrier to searches: 34 [T]he prior cases do no more than insist that the courts apply the warrant requirements with particular exactitude when First Amendment interests would be endangered by the search. As we see it, no more than this is required where the warrant requested is for the seizure of criminal evidence reasonably believed to be on the premises occupied by a newspaper. Properly administered, the preconditions for a warrant--probable cause, specificity with respect to the place to be searched and the items to be seized, and overall reasonableness--should afford sufficient protection against the harms that are assertedly threatened by warrants for searching newspaper offices. 35 436 U.S. at 565, 98 S.Ct. at 1981. 36 The government argues that the scrupulous exactitude standard is not applicable to the instant case. The government points out that the documents to be seized were not being sought for the ideas they contained, rather they were sought because they constituted indicia of membership in an organization appellants allegedly used for unlawful activities. 7 Stanford v. Texas specifically distinguished the books in that case from the type of books in the Dennis case: A 'book' which is no more than a ledger of an unlawful enterprise thus might stand on a quite different constitutional footing from the books involved in the present case. 379 U.S. at 485 n. 16, 85 S.Ct. at 512 n. 16. 37 Nevertheless, we conclude that First Amendment interests are involved in this case and therefore the scrupulous exactitude standard is appropriate. We reach this conclusion for two reasons. First, in Stanford v. Texas, membership in the Communist Party was per se illegal, so seizure of some of the books involved there would have constituted indicia of membership in an organization which would be unlawful. The Supreme Court nevertheless required scrupulous exactitude for the particularity requirement. Second, although in this case the items were not seized for their ideas, as were the books in Stanford v. Texas, they were seized for the associations they demonstrated. Just as the ideas in a book are protected by the First Amendment, so are associations so protected. See NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449, 462, 78 S.Ct. 1163, 1171, 2 L.Ed.2d 1488 (1958). Evidence of membership in a particular organization can severely affect the exercise of First Amendment rights, possibly through reprisals in the community. NAACP, 357 U.S. at 462-63, 78 S.Ct. at 1171-72. Admittedly, the Hells Angels is not as respected an organization as the NAACP. However, to ensure the protection of the associational rights of desirable organizations, it is necessary that warrants for searches for evidence of membership in bona fide organizations meet the Fourth Amendment requirements with scrupulous exactitude. 8 Analogously, the Supreme Court in formulating the scrupulous exactitude requirement in Stanford v. Texas, relied on Marcus v. Search Warrant, 367 U.S. 717, 81 S.Ct. 1708, 6 L.Ed.2d 1127 (1961), where the Court held that certain procedures had to be followed in the seizure of publications unprotected by the First Amendment (obscene publications) to ensure that protected publications were not seized or held for too long a period of time. 367 U.S. at 730-31, 737, 81 S.Ct. at 1715-16, 1719. The same rationale applies to organizations, requiring scrupulous exactitude to ensure that protected associations are not endangered. Thus, the possible implication of protected First Amendment associational rights in this case requires the scrupulous exactitude standard. 38
39 When we apply the particularity requirement with scrupulous exactitude, we conclude that the indicia warrants were inadequate. First, we note that even outside the First Amendment, a search for documents poses particular dangers: 40 [T]here are grave dangers inherent in executing a warrant authorizing a search and seizure of a person's papers that are not necessarily present in executing a warrant to search for physical objects whose relevance is more easily ascertainable. In searches for papers, it is certain that some innocuous documents will be examined, at least cursorily, in order to determine whether they are, in fact, among those papers authorized to be seized.... [R]esponsible officials, including judicial officials, must take care to assure that they are conducted in a manner that minimizes unwarranted intrusions upon privacy. 41 Andresen, 427 U.S. at 482 n. 11, 96 S.Ct. at 2749 n. 11. In United States v. Bennett, 409 F.2d 888, 897 (2nd Cir.1969), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 852, 90 S.Ct. 113, 24 L.Ed.2d 101 (1969), 402 U.S. 984, 91 S.Ct. 1670, 29 L.Ed.2d 149 (1971), Judge Friendly put the concern this way: 42 The reason why we shrink from allowing a personal diary to be the object of a search is that the entire diary must be read to discover whether there are incriminating entries; most of us would feel rather differently with respect to a diary whose cover page bore the title Robberies I Have Performed. Similarly the abhorrence generally felt with respect to rummaging through the contents of a desk to find an incriminating letter would not exist in the same measure if the letter were lying in plain view. 43 The dangers of document searches described in Andresen and Bennett are present in the instance case: the warrants authorized searches for papers relating to Hells Angels activities, items with names of Hells Angels members, and telephone books with names and numbers of Hells Angels members. The dangers of document searches alone was not enough for the Supreme Court to find the warrant in Andresen invalid or for us to find the warrant in Dennis invalid; however, the scrupulous exactitude standard triggered by First Amendment concerns was not involved in Andresen or Dennis. 44 Second, we are mindful of the proposition that a warrant must be as specific as possible. United States v. Wuagneux, 683 F.2d 1343, 1349 (11th Cir.1982); see Dennis, 625 F.2d at 792. 9 45 Third, we believe that a high degree of specificity is particularly needed with an indicia warrant. The indicia warrants, like many warrants for searches for documents, authorized the perusal of almost any document in the subject's residence. The indicia warrants, like many warrants, authorized the search of nearly every corner of the residence. Unlike most warrants, these warrants were issued to obtain evidence on just one fact--membership in the Hells Angels. Unlike most warrants, the evidence on this issue would be needlessly cumulative once enough evidence was obtained to establish membership. While additional evidence would usually show the breadth of criminal activity, in the instant case additional evidence would at some point have no additional probative value in determining membership. Therefore, some of the items in the indicia warrants would do nothing to aid in the conviction. An indicia warrant allows an almost unlimited search for the purported purpose of obtaining evidence on a very narrow matter for which only a limited amount of evidence would be useful. As a result, there was a tremendous potential for abuse. 10 Given the potential for abuse, we feel the indicia sought should be specifically identified in the warrant, and if this is impossible there should be an explanation as to why it is impossible and whether the non-specified items could actually aid in the conviction. 46 We are not asking law enforcement officials to assess exactly how much evidence is needed for a conviction. In the situation where fruits or instrumentality of crime are being sought, more evidence of this type would tend to show a broader scope of criminal activity. The same reasoning would apply to many types of mere evidence. For instance, if documents are being sought to show that a suspect is loansharking, more documents would show a broader scope of criminal activity. And even when indicia are being sought just to prove membership, we would permit the accumulation of evidence when the items were specifically identified because the specific identification would help prevent a free-wheeling search into a person's possessions. 47 Part of the warrant in this case would meet this standard. The description of the jackets, the belt buckle, T-shirts, photographs, 11 and plaques and mirrors are sufficiently specific. If the warrants said no more they would be valid. But the search for other items with names of members, telephone books, and papers relating to the Hells Angels is too general for a search for indicia to prove membership in the Hells Angels. Such evidence would be unnecessarily cumulative. Such items may be seizable with more specific information. For instance, a search of a suspect's personal telephone book to see if alleged co-conspirators were listed would not be needlessly cumulative. However, the telephone books were not sought for such a purpose. The purpose of the search was simply to find indicia of membership. A search for indicia for the purpose of proving membership in an organization should be limited to specifically enumerated items whose relevance and probative value is shown. 48 The practical effect of the warrant in the instant case is that it was very close to a general warrant. We will require that such a broad warrant for such a narrow purpose specifically enumerate the items to be seized or at least explain why a more specific showing cannot be made and why the evidence is needed. 49