American Samoa Government v. Majhor

10 Am. Samoa 3d 51
High Court of American Samoa·Decided February 18, 2005·No. CR No. 20-03·Published

Opinion

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO SUPPRESS

Introduction

On December 7, 2004, Defendant Diane Majhor filed a motion to suppress all evidence obtained from a March 27, 2003 search warrant, arguing that information intentionally or recklessly omitted from the affidavit supporting the warrant, if included, would have made it so that no probable cause existed to justify the search.

After considering the parties’ submissions and testimony offered at hearing on February 3, 2005, we hold that the search warrant is valid and the evidence seized pursuant to the warrant is not suppressed.

Discussion

In Franks v. Delaware, the Supreme Court concluded that the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution entitles a defendant to a [54]*54hearing to challenge a facially valid warrant once the defendant makes a preliminary showing that the affidavit contains information “that the affiant knew was false or would have known was false but for his reckless disregard for the truth,” and that absent the false information, the affidavit would not support a showing of probable cause. 438 U.S. 154 (1978); see also United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 923 (1984); United States v. Stanert, 762 F.2d 775, 780 (9th Cir. 1985); Am. Samoa Gov’t. v. Samana, 30 A.S.R.2d 98 (Trial Div. 1996) (applying the similar provision in Article I, Section 5 of the Revised Constitution of American Samoa). Similarly, if an officer omits critical information from a search warrant application, a defendant may also be entitled to a hearing. See Stanert, 762 F.2d at 781 (holding that deliberate or reckless omissions of facts that tend to mislead are false statements for Franks purposes). Likewise then, a defendant is entitled to a hearing after making a preliminary showing: (1) that facts were omitted with the intent to make, or in reckless disregard of whether they make, the affidavit misleading; and (2) that the affidavit, if supplemented by the omitted information, could not support a finding of probable cause. United States v. Stropes, 387 F.3d 766, 771 (8th Cir. 2004). Once the defendant has met his preliminary showing, the court must suppress the evidence obtained from the warrant if the Defendant shows at hearing that, by a preponderance of the evidence, the magistrate was misled by an affidavit that intentionally or recklessly omitted information. Franks, 438 U.S. at 155-56; Leon, 468 U.S. at 923.

I. Preliminary Analysis

Mere allegations, without additional proof, are insufficient to make a preliminary showing of reckless or intentional omission and lack of probable cause for issuance of a search warrant. Franks, 438 U.S. at 171; see also United States v. Mathison, 157 F.3d 541, 548 (8th Cir. 1998). Defendant, during a hearing on January 11, 2005, however, referenced Captain Va'a Sunia’s testimony at the preliminary examination for this prosecution in the District Court on June 5, 2003, stating that searches of the same residence, after the police took control of the premises and prior to the March 27, 2003 search, revealed no controlled substances. While such an argument does not itself by a preponderance establish intent or recklessness, given the nature and of the specific omission in the context of the March 27 and earlier searches, we concluded that Defendant met the preliminaty burden of establishing that the omission may have been intentional or reckless. Moreover, because, as Defendant argued, the affidavit sought to search the home for drugs, but failed to discuss that the premises had been searched on prior occasions with no discovery of drugs, we are similarly satisfied that Defendant has made a preliminary showing that had such information been included, the magistrate could have found no probable cause to [55]*55conduct the search. We therefore determined that Defendant reached the preliminary threshold entitling her to a Franks hearing for further evidentiary review.

II. Evidentiary Hearing

Having considered Defendant’s evidence challenging the facially valid warrant, we hold that she has not met her burden at the evidentiary hearing to justify suppression of the evidence seized during the March 27,2003 search.

A. Intentional or Reckless Omission

Although it is not disputed that Officer John Cendrowski failed to include the information about the prior searches in his March 27, 2003 affidavit, a Fourth Amendment or Article I, Section 5 violation in the context of Franks applies only to intentional or reckless omissions from the affidavit, and the mere existence of an omission alone is not enough to establish intent. See United States v. Artez, 389 F.3d 1106 (10th Cir. 2004).

Defendant presented no persuasive evidence at the hearing that Officer Cendrowski acted intentionally to mislead the issuing judge. Thus, the remaining inquiry is whether Officer Cendrowski’s failure to include a discussion of prior searches in the affidavit can be regarded as so material as to indicate a reckless omission. We conclude that it does not.

We begin by observing, as does the Sixth Circuit, that a defendant will have more success challenging an affidavit alleged to contain a false statement than one with a potentially material omission. See United States v. Atkin, 107 F.3d 1213, 1217 (6th Cir. 1997). This is so, because affidavits in support of search warrants “are normally drafted by nonlawyers in the midst and haste of a criminal investigation.” United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 108 (1965). Because an affiant cannot be expected to include every piece of information gathered in the course of an investigation in an affidavit, allowing omissions to be challenged with regular success would create a situation where almost every affidavit would be questioned. United States v. Awadallah, 349 F.3d 42 (2d Cir. 2003); United States v. Colkley, 899 F.2d 297, 302 (4th Cir. 1990); Atkin, 107 F.3d at 1217.

Moreover, we note that in determining what information should be included in an affidavit, it is important to distinguish between the situations presented in Franks and in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). In Mays v. City of Dayton, 134 F.3d 809 (6th Cir. 1998), the appellate court concluded that the district court misconstrued the [56]*56meaning of Franks by applying the rationale of Brady to the warrant application process. In Mays,

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Related

Brady v. Maryland
373 U.S. 83 (Supreme Court, 1963)
United States v. Ventresca
380 U.S. 102 (Supreme Court, 1965)
Franks v. Delaware
438 U.S. 154 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Illinois v. Gates
462 U.S. 213 (Supreme Court, 1983)
United States v. Leon
468 U.S. 897 (Supreme Court, 1984)
United States v. Artez
389 F.3d 1106 (Tenth Circuit, 2004)
United States v. Stanley Mills Stanert
762 F.2d 775 (Ninth Circuit, 1985)
United States v. Sanford I. Atkin
107 F.3d 1213 (Sixth Circuit, 1997)
Dewey O. Mays, Jr., M.D. v. City of Dayton
134 F.3d 809 (Sixth Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Kenneth Eugene Allen
211 F.3d 970 (Sixth Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Osama Awadallah
349 F.3d 42 (Second Circuit, 2003)