United States v. Bemka Corp.

368 F. App'x 941
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedMarch 12, 2010
Docket09-11217
StatusUnpublished

This text of 368 F. App'x 941 (United States v. Bemka Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Bemka Corp., 368 F. App'x 941 (11th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Appellants Bemka Corporation (“Bem-ka”) and Max Moghaddam (together, “the defendants”) appeal their convictions for conspiracy to export paddlefish roe without required permits, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, false labeling of export shipments, in violation of 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(1),(2), and attempting to export an endangered species without a permit, in violation of 16 U.S.C. § 1538(c)(1). The defendants argue the district court erred in denying their motion to suppress and that there was insufficient evidence to find Moghaddam guilty of all three counts of the indictment. Having found no error, we affirm.

I. Motion to Suppress

On appeal, the defendants argue that there was insufficient evidence to support probable cause to issue a search warrant for Bemka’s headquarters. The defendants assert that the information in the June 2007 warrant affidavit relating to the export and sale of caviar in 2004 and 2005 was stale. They argue that the allegations in the affidavit did not demonstrate that they knowingly violated the law and contest information in the affidavit concerning Bemka’s abandonment of a permit application to export American paddlefish roe. They also argue that the search exceeded the bounds set by the search warrant and that the warrant was over broad.

“Because rulings on motions to suppress involve mixed questions of fact and law, we review the district court’s factual findings for clear error, and its application of the law to the facts de novo.” United States v. Bervaldi, 226 F.3d 1256, 1262 (11th Cir.2000). “[A]ll facts are construed in the light most favorable to the prevailing party *943 below.” Id. “[T]he duty of a reviewing court is simply to ensure that the magistrate had a ‘substantial basis for concluding’ that probable cause existed.” Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238-39, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983) (alteration omitted).

Probable cause and staleness

Under the Fourth Amendment, probable cause to support a search warrant exists when the totality of the circumstances allows the conclusion that “there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place.” Gates, 462 U.S. at 238, 103 S.Ct. at 2332. Our staleness doctrine “requires that the information supporting the government’s application for a warrant must show that probable cause exists at the time the warrant issues.” Bervaldi, 226 F.3d at 1264. When determining staleness, courts should consider the length of time, “nature of the suspected crime (discrete crimes or ongoing conspiracy), habits of the accused, character of the items sought, and nature and function of the premises to be searched.” Id. at 1265 (internal quotation marks omitted). “[W]here an affidavit recites a mere isolated violation then it is not unreasonable to believe that probable cause quickly dwindles with the passage of time.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Conversely, “if an affidavit recites activity indicating protracted or continuous conduct, time is of less significance.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Stale information can establish probable cause if “the government’s affidavit updates, substantiates, or corroborates the stale material.” United States v. Jiminez, 224 F.3d 1243, 1249 (11th Cir.2000) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Under the totality of the circumstances test, the magistrate judge reasonably found probable cause based on the allegations in the warrant affidavit. See Gates, 462 U.S. at 238, 103 S.Ct. at 2332. The magistrate judge had a substantial basis to determine that the defendants were probably engaged in the illegal exportation of protected fish roe and that evidence of this crime would be found at Bemka’s headquarters. See id. The court also did not err by finding that the information in the affidavit was not stale because the affidavit also presented evidence of more recent wrongdoing by the defendants.

Particularity and exceeding the scope of the search warrant

The Fourth Amendment requires that a warrant “particularly describ[e] the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” U.S. Const. Amend. IV. “A warrant which fails to sufficiently particularize the place to be searched or the things to be seized is unconstitutionally over broad.” United States v. Travers, 233 F.3d 1327, 1329 (11th Cir.2000). Additionally, “[i]f a search exceeds the scope of the terms of a warrant, any subsequent seizure is unconstitutional.” United States v. Jackson, 120 F.3d 1226, 1228 (11th Cir.1997). “However, a search may be extensive as reasonably necessary as required to locate the items described in the warrant[.]” Id.

We conclude that the warrant stated with particularity the items to be seized and the place to be searched. We also disagree with the defendants’ assertion that the officers exceeded the scope of the search warrant. The defendants raise this argument for the first time on appeal; therefore, we review only for plain error. See United States v. Turner, 474 F.3d 1265, 1276 (11th Cir.2007). To prove plain error, the defendants must show (1) error, (2) that was plain, and (3) that affects substantial rights. Id. The defendants have failed to show that the district court plainly erred. Accordingly, we affirm the *944 denial of the defendants’ motion to suppress.

II. Sufficiency of the Evidence

On appeal, the defendants argue that the district court erred by denying Mo-ghaddam’s motion for acquittal as to the conspiracy charged in Count One because the government did not present evidence, direct or circumstantial, that he knowingly and willfully conspired with anyone to export protected paddlefísh eggs without the required permits. The defendants also argue that the district court erred by denying Moghaddam’s motion for acquittal as to false labeling of export shipments, as charged in Count Two, and attempt to export paddlefísh eggs without a permit, as charged in Count Three, because the government presented no evidence that Moghaddam knowingly violated the law. The defendants argue that the evidence, at best, demonstrated that Moghaddam accidentally mislabeled the caviar at issue.

We review de novo

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Related

United States v. Jackson
120 F.3d 1226 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Christian A. Hansen
262 F.3d 1217 (Eleventh Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Charles McGhee
313 F.3d 1278 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Trelliny T. Turner
474 F.3d 1265 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
Illinois v. Gates
462 U.S. 213 (Supreme Court, 1983)
United States v. Carlos Lafaurie
833 F.2d 1468 (Eleventh Circuit, 1987)
United States v. Alberto Rodriguez Jiminez
224 F.3d 1243 (Eleventh Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Jason R. Bervaldi
226 F.3d 1256 (Eleventh Circuit, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
368 F. App'x 941, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-bemka-corp-ca11-2010.