Opinion ID: 2103978
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Lower Courts Misapplied Leon

Text: Applying these considerations, we conclude that the lower courts missed the appropriate focus for determining whether to exclude the illegally seized evidence. Analyzing Officer Podschweit's conduct pursuant to the principles articulated in Leon is not the appropriate inquiry for determining whether to exclude the illegally seized evidence. Instead, the appropriate focus under Supreme Court precedent is to examine whether those who procured the warrant and signaled its continued validity harbored an objectively reasonable belief that the warrant was valid. Officer Podschweit's conduct is not the appropriate focus for a Leon analysis because he did not procure the warrant at issue. If we were to analyze Officer Podschweit's conduct pursuant to Leon, we would be forced to determine whether Officer Podschweit had an objectively reasonable belief that the warrant he was executing was valid. However, this inquiry is misplaced because Officer Podschweit did not possess the warrant and did not have any knowledge of the facts purported to establish probable cause or the circumstances surrounding the warrant's issuance. ( See State v. Taylor (R.I.1993), 621 A.2d 1252 (finding Leon analysis inapplicable to arrest where executing officer had no knowledge of facts supporting probable cause in warrant).) While Leon allows an officer to rely on a judge's determination that facts in an affidavit are sufficient to satisfy the probable cause standard, nothing in Leon allows an officer to claim a good-faith belief in the validity of a warrant based only on a radio transmission from a fellow officer. Deference to the probable cause determination of a judge or magistrate is simply not the same as deference to a police radio transmission concerning the existence of a valid warrant. Furthermore, the Leon Court specifically stated that an executing officer's ignorance concerning the facts surrounding the warrant's issuance cannot shield the warrant process from scrutiny. ( Leon, 468 U.S. at 923 n. 24, 104 S.Ct. at 3420 n. 24, 82 L.Ed.2d at 698 n. 24.) The Court cautioned against applying a cursory good-faith analysis that would allow a procuring officer to secure an illegal search by simply rely[ing] on colleagues who are ignorant of the circumstances under which the warrant was obtained. ( Leon, 468 U.S. at 923 n. 24, 104 S.Ct. at 3420 n. 24, 82 L.Ed.2d at 698 n. 24.) Such a process would allow the police to effectively thwart the constitutional protections provided by the warrant process. Thus, a proper application of the good-faith doctrine announced in Leon to the present facts requires more than an analysis of Officer Podschweit's conduct.