Opinion ID: 552757
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Validity of the Search Warrant

Text: 5 Appellant argues that the search warrant obtained by the federal agents for the search of her apartment was overbroad, amounting in effect to a general warrant, and that the resulting search thus violated her rights under the fourth amendment. The government responds that the warrant, as supplemented by material specifically incorporated into it and by an underlying affidavit, was sufficiently particularized to pass muster under judicial precedent and that, even if it was not, the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule precludes suppression of the evidence. Although we agree with appellant that the warrant was not sufficiently particularized to survive review, we believe the good faith exception does apply and that the evidence therefore should not be suppressed. 6 The fourth amendment categorically prohibits the general, exploratory rummaging [of] a person's belongings by requiring a 'particular description' of the things to be seized. Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 467, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 2039, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971). By limiting searches to the specific areas and things for which there is probable cause to search, the requirement ensures that the search will be carefully tailored to its justifications, and will not take on the character of the wide-ranging exploratory searches the Framers intended to prohibit. Maryland v. Garrison, 480 U.S. 79, 84, 107 S.Ct. 1013, 1016, 94 L.Ed.2d 72 (1987). When assessing whether a warrant is sufficiently particular, however,  '[w]e are concerned with the realities of administration of criminal justice. It is sufficient if the warrant signed by the judicial officer is particular enough if read with reasonable effort by the officer executing the warrant.'  United States v. Vaughn, 830 F.2d 1185, 1186 (D.C.Cir.1987) (quoting Moore v. United States, 461 F.2d 1236, 1238 (D.C.Cir.1972)). 7 This circuit has held, along with most others, that in some circumstances a search warrant may be construed with reference to the affidavit supporting it for purposes of satisfying the particularity requirement. The affidavit may serve this function, however, only if  '(1) the affidavit accompanies the warrant, and in addition (2) the warrant uses suitable words of reference which incorporate the affidavit by reference.'  United States v. Vaughn, 830 F.2d at 1186 (quoting Moore v. United States, 461 F.2d at 1238). See also, e.g., United States v. Hillyard, 677 F.2d 1336, 1340 (9th Cir.1982); United States v. Curry, 911 F.2d 72, 76-77 (8th Cir.1990); United States v. Roche, 614 F.2d 6, 8 (1st Cir.1980). The incorporation issue is crucial here because, for the reasons explained below, we believe that the warrant in this case was fatally overbroad if the supporting affidavit is unavailable to limit the warrant's scope. 8 The warrant itself contained no description of the premises to be searched or the items to be seized, but did expressly incorporate a description of the premises that was attached to the application for the search warrant, as well as a one-paragraph description of the categories of items to be seized that also was attached to the application. 1 The warrant did not, however, expressly incorporate the three-page affidavit prepared by the federal agent who applied for the warrant, which provided details of the wire fraud scheme appellant was suspected of perpetrating. The warrant did state, in preprinted language, that the agent presented an affidavit to the issuing magistrate and that the magistrate was satisfied that the affidavit(s) ... establish probable cause justifying issuance of a warrant, but there were no explicit words on the warrant indicating that the magistrate intended to incorporate the contents of the affidavit into the warrant and thereby limit its scope by reference to the affidavit, nor did either of the two attachments that were explicitly incorporated into the warrant make reference to the affidavit. 9 Although there is little case law specifically addressing what suffices to incorporate an affidavit into a warrant by reference, we believe that something more is required than a boilerplate statement that the affidavit or affidavits presented to the magistrate constitute probable cause for issuing the warrant. See, e.g., United States v. Strand, 761 F.2d 449, 453-54 (8th Cir.1985) (affidavit was not incorporated where warrant stated only that affidavits were provided to issuing magistrate and that they provided probable cause); United States v. Curry, 911 F.2d at 77. 2 Courts have long recognized that there is a fundamental distinction between the warrant and the underlying affidavit, Moore v. United States, 461 F.2d at 1238, 3 and the express incorporation rule recognizes this distinction by requiring the magistrate to manifest an explicit intention to incorporate an affidavit. We therefore reaffirm that, in order for an affidavit to be viewed as limiting the scope of a warrant, the warrant must not only attach the affidavit, but must also contain suitable words of reference evidencing the magistrate's explicit intention to incorporate the affidavit. Because there were no such suitable words in the warrant at issue here, the affidavit detailing appellant's fraudulent activities is unavailable to limit the scope of the warrant. 4 10 As indicated earlier, we believe that, without benefit of the limiting affidavit, the warrant in this case was fatally overbroad. The description of the items to be seized that was incorporated into the warrant authorized the seizure of the following categories of items: 11 any and all seals representing or appearing to represent any agency of the United States; any and all writings and documents representing or appearing to represent any agency of the United States; any interstate or foreign correspondence, handwritten notes, carbons, bank records, negotiable instruments, logs, ledgers, address books, travel documents, memoranda or notations pertaining to interstate or foreign commerce; transmissions made pertaining to interstate or foreign commerce; any and all documents generated in connection with or evidencing a scheme, artifice or devise of transactions in interstate or foreign commerce; any electronic memory equipment, materials, tapes, records, discs, discettes or any other medium used to store information pertaining to interstate or foreign commerce; all machinery, equipment, or transmitting devices used or capable of being used to send via interstate or foreign commerce: sounds, signals, pictures, or writings transmitted by wire for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice. 12 Appendix A to Brief for Appellee. The description then concluded with the following statement: All of which are fruits, instrumentalities and evidence of crimes against the United States of America, that is fraud by wire in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. Id. 13 This description alleged, in effect, that all or virtually all of appellant's business records and equipment constituted evidence of federal wire fraud violations of unspecified character. Although the government argues that the affidavit filed with the warrant application provided probable cause for the magistrate to conclude that appellant's business indeed was entirely devoted to a wire fraud scheme, the affidavit, in fact, related only very particular information implicating appellant in a specific scheme to defraud and made no assertions concerning the nature or extent of appellant's business dealings as a whole. The government also argues that the reference to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1343 in the incorporated description of the items to be seized sufficiently limited the scope of the warrant by restricting the search to business records that evidenced a scheme to commit wire fraud. Although a warrant's reference to a particular statute may in certain circumstances limit the scope of the warrant sufficiently to satisfy the particularity requirement, see, e.g., In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 716 F.2d 493, 499 (8th Cir.1983), it will not do so where, as here, the warrant authorizes seizure of all records and where, as here, the reference is to a broad federal statute, such as the federal wire fraud statute. References to broad statutes realistically constitute no limitation at all on the scope of an otherwise overbroad warrant and therefore cannot save it. 5 14 Although we conclude that the warrant was overly broad, we nonetheless decline to order the suppression of the evidence seized pursuant to it because we believe that the agents in this case reasonably relied on the warrant in good faith. Under United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984), and Massachusetts v. Sheppard, 468 U.S. 981, 104 S.Ct. 3424, 82 L.Ed.2d 737 (1984), the exclusionary rule should not be applied to exclude evidence seized pursuant to a defective search warrant if the officers conducting the search acted in objectively reasonable reliance on the warrant and the warrant was issued by a detached and neutral magistrate. Id. at 987-88, 104 S.Ct. at 3427-28. Here, the agent who applied for the warrant properly prepared an affidavit detailing the illegalities of which appellant was suspected and presented it to a neutral and detached magistrate. The magistrate determined that probable cause existed to search appellant's apartment for evidence of the suspected illegalities, but neglected to incorporate the agent's affidavit into the warrant. As in Sheppard, [a]n error of constitutional dimensions may have been committed with respect to the issuance of the warrant, but it was the judge, not the police officers, who made the critical mistake. Id. at 990, 104 S.Ct. at 3428. Because the exclusionary rule is designed  'to deter unlawful searches by the police, not to punish the errors of magistrates and judges,'  id. (quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 263, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2345, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983) (White, J., concurring in judgment)), it should not be applied where the executing officers reasonably rely on the validity of a warrant issued to them. When the magistrate signed the warrant at issue here, with the affidavit apparently attached although not specifically incorporated, the agent reasonably could have concluded that the scope of the warrant was limited to materials supporting the allegations contained in the affidavit. Moreover, the same agent who prepared the affidavit and obtained the warrant also oversaw the execution of the warrant, a circumstance that was important to the Supreme Court's decision in Sheppard, where the Court held that it is appropriate to take account of the knowledge possessed by the officer or officers who execute the search warrant. 6 We conclude that the agents took every step that could reasonably be expected of them and that a reasonable police officer would have concluded ... that the warrant authorized a search for the materials outlined in the affidavit. Id. at 989, 104 S.Ct. at 3428. See, e.g., United States v. Anderson, 851 F.2d 384, 387-89 (D.C.Cir.1988) (agents reasonably relied on warrant as being limited by affidavit where warrant was defective because affidavit was not incorporated into it), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1012, 109 S.Ct. 801, 102 L.Ed.2d 792 (1989); see also United States v. Curry, 911 F.2d at 78; United States v. Luk, 859 F.2d 667 (9th Cir.1988). 7 15