State v. Turay

532 P.3d 57, 371 Or. 128
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedJune 15, 2023
DocketS068894
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 532 P.3d 57 (State v. Turay) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Turay, 532 P.3d 57, 371 Or. 128 (Or. 2023).

Opinion

128 June 15, 2023 No. 15

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON

STATE OF OREGON, Petitioner on Review, v. AHMED GBANABOM TURAY, JR., Respondent on Review. (CC 17CR59493) (CA A166973) (SC S068894)

On review from the Court of Appeals.* Argued and submitted May 3, 2022. Peenesh Shah, Assistant Attorney General, Salem, argued the cause and filed the briefs for petitioner on review. Also on the briefs were Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, and Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General. Morgen E. Daniels, Deputy Public Defender, Office of Public Defense Services, Salem, argued the cause and filed the brief for respondent on review. Also on the brief was Ernest G. Lannet, Chief Defender. Kelly K. Simon, American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, Portland, filed the brief for amici curiae the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon. Also on the brief were Rachel Dallal, American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, Portland, and Jennifer Stisa Granick, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, San Francisco. Before Flynn, Chief Justice, Duncan, Garrett, DeHoog, and Bushong, Justices, and Balmer and Walters, Senior Judges, Justices pro tempore.**

______________ * On appeal from the Washington County Circuit Court, Oscar Garcia, Judge. 313 Or App 45, 493 P3d 1058 (2021). ** Nelson, J., resigned February 25, 2023, and did not participate in the decision of this case. James, J., did not participate in the consideration or decision of this case.

128_371.indd 128 6/15/2023 7:32:04 AM Cite as 371 Or 128 (2023) 129

FLYNN, C. J. The decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed in part and reversed in part. The judgment of the circuit court is reversed, and the case is remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings. Duncan, J., concurred and filed an opinion in which Walters, S. J., joined.

128_371.indd 129 6/15/2023 7:32:04 AM 130 State v. Turay

FLYNN, C. J. Defendant in this criminal case was convicted of compelling prostitution, based in part on incriminating images and text messages that law enforcement found pur- suant to a warrant to search his cell phone for nine catego- ries of information (search categories). Defendant challenges the warrant, and that challenge presents the opportunity for this court to further consider the constitutional require- ment that search warrants “particularly describe” the place to be searched or thing to be seized, Or Const, Art I, § 9, in the context of warrants that authorize law enforcement to search for digital data. See generally State v. Mansor, 363 Or 185, 421 P3d 323 (2018) (discussing and analyzing appli- cation of that “particularity” requirement to the search of a computer). And, because it is undisputed that the warrant in this case contained some search categories that failed to particularly describe the evidence sought, this case also requires us to decide whether and to what extent those unlawful search categories require suppression of evidence obtained through the search of defendant’s phone. That question, in turn, involves a two-step inquiry: whether the unlawful search categories invalidated the warrant in toto and, if not, how the trial court should determine whether Article I, section 9, prohibits the state from using evidence that it obtained through executing the partially unlawful warrant to search for digital data. As explained below, we conclude that five of the nine search categories set out in the warrant to search defen- dant’s cell phone failed to satisfy the constitutional partic- ularity requirement and, thus, that those categories failed to authorize a lawful search. We further conclude, however, that the inclusion of those unlawful search categories in the warrant does not necessarily require suppression of all evi- dence found on defendant’s phone, for the following reasons. First, because the state extracted and examined data from defendant’s phone in an effort to find evidence that no law- ful category of the warrant authorized it to search for (in addition to the lawfully authorized categories), defendant has established a minimal factual nexus between a con- stitutional violation and the challenged evidence. Second, that minimal factual nexus undermines the presumption of

128_371.indd 130 6/15/2023 7:32:04 AM Cite as 371 Or 128 (2023) 131

validity that ordinarily attends warrant-based searches and therefore requires suppression unless the state establishes that the challenged evidence was not tainted by the con- stitutional violation. We finally conclude that, in this case, the appropriate disposition is a remand for development of a factual record and for the trial court to make the required factual findings under the correct legal standard. I. FACTS The search warrant at issue authorized law enforcement to search two cell phones belonging to defen- dant. The affidavit supporting that warrant recited that Detective Opitz of the Beaverton Police Department had obtained information in August 2017 that had prompted him to suspect that defendant and an adult female, Gregg, were promoting and compelling a 17-year-old victim, J, into prostitution. Opitz located “numerous prostitution related postings” associated with Gregg—some with Gregg and the victim advertised as a “2 for 1” deal—on websites that he knew to be used by individuals offering sex for sale. Opitz then set up an undercover prostitution engagement with J by text message, including an arranged date, time, location, and price. On that arranged day, Opitz saw a car arrive at the designated parking lot just as J texted to say that she was arriving. Opitz recognized J when she exited the car, and other officers then stopped the car and arrested the driver—defendant. During an ensuing search of the car, officers found and seized two cell phones that they deter- mined belonged to defendant. Opitz later interviewed J, who told Opitz how she used her own cell phone to conduct business—that she had used her phone to communicate with customers and that she had posted, but not paid for, advertisements on a prostitution-related website (the website). She also told Opitz that she had met Gregg about 12 weeks prior and that Gregg had introduced her to defendant and also to prosti- tution. J further recounted that both Gregg and defendant knew that she was a minor; that she had engaged in joint prostitution engagements together with Gregg; and that she and defendant were “boyfriend/girlfriend,” but also that defendant and Gregg had been in a relationship. Not long

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thereafter, defendant was indicted on one count of compel- ling prostitution in relation to J, ORS 167.017. Opitz then prepared an affidavit and accompanying search warrant to search various cell phones, including the two belonging to defendant.1 The affidavit included exten- sive information about Opitz’s background and training, as well as several statements—based on his knowledge and experience—relating to the connection between sex traf- ficking and the use of the internet and cell phones. Those aspects of the affidavit further discussed how various infor- mation could be stored and retrieved on cell phones, includ- ing an explanation of various cell phone features. The affi- davit then described facts relating to the investigation of defendant, including those set out above.2 Finally, the affidavit identified the cell phones to be searched—including defendant’s phones—and described nine search categories of digital data to be searched for, seized, and analyzed: “(1) Any and all communications (voice, email, text, or otherwise) between [J, defendant,] and/or * * * Gregg. “(2) Evidence related to the relationship between [J, Gregg,] and/or [defendant].

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Bluebook (online)
532 P.3d 57, 371 Or. 128, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-turay-or-2023.