Court Opinion

ID: 9609910
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 03:33:13.384267+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:02:53.563019
License: Public Domain

WHITE, Circuit Judge
(concurring).
I concur on the basis that the district court erred in rejecting the government’s argument that without regard to the adequacy of the affidavit, the officers relied on the warrant in good faith, and the fruit of the search is thus admissible under United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984).
The good-faith exception is discussed in United States v. Hython, 443 F.3d 480, 484-85 (6th Cir.2006):
United States v. Leon modified the exclusionary rule so as not to bar from admission evidence “seized in reasonable, good-faith reliance on a search warrant that is subsequently held to be defective.” 468 U.S. 897, 905, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984). Where an officer’s reliance on a warrant is objectively reasonable, the Supreme Court held, no additional deterrent effect will be achieved through the exclusion from evidence of the fruits of that search. See id. at 922, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677. However, the good-faith exception is inapposite in four situations: (1) where the issuing magistrate was misled by information in an affidavit that the affiant knew was false or would have known was false except for his reckless disregard for the truth; (2) where the issuing magistrate wholly abandoned his judicial role and failed to act in a neutral and detached fashion, serving merely as a rubber stamp for the police; (3) where the affidavit was nothing more than a “bare bones” affidavit that did not provide the magistrate with a substantial basis for determining the existence of probable cause, or where the affidavit was so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official belief in its existence entirely unreasonable; and (4) where the officer’s reliance on the warrant was not in good faith or objectively reasonable, such as where the warrant is facially deficient. See id. at 923, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677.
* * * The showing required to establish that reliance was “objectively reasonable” is less than the “substantial basis” showing required to establish probable cause. See United States v. Carpenter, *496360 F.3d 591, 595 (6th Cir.2004) (en banc). “[I]t is entirely possible that an affidavit could be insufficient for probable cause but sufficient for good-faith reliance.” United States v. Washington, 380 F.3d 236, 241 (6th Cir.2004).
This court reviews de novo the district court’s determination whether to apply the Leon good-faith exception. United States v. Frazier, 423 F.3d 526, 533 (6th Cir.2005).
The district court concluded the exception does not apply here:
because probable cause was not established and because Lt. Rhoades’ affidavit did not include enough facts with respect to the nexus between the alleged criminal activity and the place to be searched, the affidavit is so lacking an “indica [sic] of probable cause as to render official belief in its existence entirely unreasonable.” United States v. Washington, 380 F.3d [236,] 241 [6th Cir.2004],
This was error. Here, there is no indication that the affiant provided false information to the magistrate. Further, although much of the information was stale, the search warrant provided specifics and was not “bare bones.” Nor, in light of paragraph 9, was it so deficient on its face as to render unreasonable the officers’ belief in its authority.