Court Opinion

ID: 9691682
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 20:58:00.190876+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:25.103845
License: Public Domain

CATES, Presiding Judge
(dissenting).
I consider that present five-man court has not overruled the construction of Code 1940, T. 15, § 103, referred to in Brandies v. State, 44 Ala.App. 648, 219 So.2d 404; Tyler v. State, 45 Ala.App. 155, 227 So.2d 442; and Myrick v. State, 45 Ala.App. 162, 227 So.2d 448. In this last case we said:
“In Tyler v. State, 45 Ala.App. 155, 227 So.2d 442 (Oct. 7, 1969), we noted that Code 1940, T. 15, § 103 requires that each witness before the magistrate issuing the search warrant must have his testimony reduced to a written deposition to be subscribed by the witness. In that case, the magistrate had had other witnesses before him whose testimony was not put in writing.
“In the case of instant concern, there was but one witness so far as this record shows. The only infirmity in the affidavit which led to the issuance of the warrant was the failure of the affiant to expressly label his informer as one who had previously furnished reliable information. See Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 80 S.Ct. 725, 4 L.Ed.2d 697. Here, on examination in the circuit court, Camp, the affiant, testified that his informer had been previously shown to be reliable.
“In Knox v. State, 42 Ala.App. 578, 172 So.2d 787(10), we indicated that it was possible to supply the deficiencies in an affidavit if, in fact, additional oral evidence was laid before the issuing magistrate. In Brandies v. State, 44 Ala.App. 648, 219 So.2d 404, and Tyler we indicated that such oral evidence must, nevertheless, to the extent required by § 103 of T. 15, supra, be reduced to writing. Thus, from these three opinions, it can be deduced that there must be a written disposition for each witness before the issuing magistrate.”
Since there was evidence before the issuing magistrate in the case sub judice which was not reduced to writing, I am impelled to respectfully dissent.