Court Opinion

ID: 9751926
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 17:18:36.306353+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:51:09.105392
License: Public Domain

KELLY, Associate Judge
(dissenting):
In essence, the trial court found that a United States magistrate had issued a war*170rant authorizing a search of the second floor premises at 1340 Kenyon Street, N. W., at “anytime in the day or night”, upon an affidavit evidencing a reasonable belief that narcotic drugs and paraphernalia were concealed on the premises in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a); that the affidavit contained no facts showing probable cause for its nighttime service, and that “[t]here was no basis in the affidavit for issuance of a warrant authorizing search at night under either 21 U.S.C. 879(a) or 23 D.C.Code 521(f) (5)”. Accordingly, the court granted appellees’ motions to suppress.
The Government here concedes that the criteria for a nighttime search pursuant to D.C.Code 1967, §§ 23-521 (f) (5), 522(c) (1) and 523(b) (Supp. V, 1972) were not met but argues, and the majority appears to agree, that these sections have no application to warrants issued for violations of federal or local narcotics laws.1
In my judgment, however, it is unnecessary to determine this debatable issue,2 for it seems clear to me that there was a failure here to comply with the warrant provisions of the Controlled Substances Act, pursuant "to which the instant warrant issued. The applicable section of the United States Code, 21 U.S.C. 879(a), provides:
A search warrant relating to offenses involving controlled substances may be served at any time of the day or night if the judge or United States magistrate issuing the warrant is satisfied that there is probable cause to believe that grounds exist for the warrant and for its service at such time. (Emphasis supplied.)
Thus, the statute requires that authorization for nighttime service of an 879(a) search warrant rest upon a showing of probable cause that grounds exist for the warrant and of probable cause for its service at night.3
The majority states that Section 879(a) is simply a reenactment of former 18 U.S.C. 1405,4 “with some modified language” but with no change in application or meaning intended. It finds support for this view in legislative history, one sentence of which reads that:
Subsection (a) of this section incorporates 18 U.S.C. 1405 and authorizes service of a search warrant at any time of the day or night if probable cause has been established to the satisfaction of the Judge or U.S. magistrate issuing the warrant.5
As the two statutory provisions are not identical, Congress must have intended, as it says it did, that Section 879(a) incorporate the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 1405 but also to add a further requirement au*171thorizing service of a warrant at night only on a showing of probable cause. To me, to hold otherwise makes the added phrase in Section 879(a) meaningless.
I would affirm the order of the trial court granting the motions to suppress.6

. This argument is advanced despite the fact that Section 23-521 (d) (2) authorizes seizure of property, pursuant to a warrant, which “is contraband or otherwise illegally possessed”. Moreover, Section 23-521 (f) (6) sets out the procedure for obtaining judicial authorization of search and arrest warrants under the controversial “no-knock” provision of the statute (Section 23-591 (c)) which was designed in part to help combat the high incidence of narcotic violations in this jurisdiction.

. Compare United States v. Gooding, 328 F.Supp. 1005 (D.D.C.1971) with United States v. Green, 331 F.Supp. 44 (D.D.C.1971).

. United States v. Green, supra. Contra, United States v. Gooding, supra.

. § 1405. Issuance of search warrants— procedure
(1) a search warrant may be served at any time of the day or night if the judge or the United States Commissioner issuing the warrant is satisfied that there is probable cause to believe that the grounds for the application exist, and
(2) a search warrant may be directed to any officer of the Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia authorized to enforce or assist in enforcing a violation of any such provisions.

. Report of the Comm. on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Controlled Dangerous Substances Act of 1969, S.Rep.No.613, 91st Cong., 1st Sess. 30-31 (1969); Report of the Comm., on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, H.R.Rep.No. 91-1444, 91st Cong., 2d Sess. 54 (1970).

. It is thus unnecessary to discuss appel-lees’ contention that only personnel of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs may execute § 879(a) search warrants since the authority of the District of Columbia police to execute federal narcotic warrants was withdrawn upon the repeal of 18 U.S.C. 1405(2).