United States v. Christie

208 F. App'x 332
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedDecember 7, 2006
Docket05-31080
StatusUnpublished

This text of 208 F. App'x 332 (United States v. Christie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth 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. Christie, 208 F. App'x 332 (5th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

*333 PER CURIAM: *

Defendant-Appellant Thomas Christie (“Christie”) appeals his child pornography conviction and sentence that followed his conditional plea of guilty after the district court denied his motion to suppress evidence seized from a computer located in a business office in his residence. Christie challenges the district court’s order denying his motion to suppress and the validity of his conditional plea. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND

In March 2004, James Podboy (“Pod-boy”), a special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security, presented an application for a search warrant to a federal magistrate judge. In the affidavit submitted in support of the application, Podboy described the government’s investigation that revealed that Christie had purchased access to Internet web sites containing child pornography. Podboy stated in his affidavit that he had probable cause to believe that evidence of child pornography would be found at Christie’s residence located at 3418 Seminole Drive, Shreveport, Louisiana 71107. An attachment to the application described 3418 Seminole Drive as “a single family, one level home” and detailed the exterior of the premises.

Podboy’s affidavit further stated that he had checked Louisiana motor vehicle records to verify that Christie lived at 3418 Seminole Drive and that surveillance of the premises in the previous month had revealed two vehicles registered to Christie parked in the driveway. Podboy averred that the cable company records showed Christie was receiving high speed Internet service at 3418 Seminole Drive using the same email address contained in transactional information discovered in the government’s underlying investigation. Podboy also attested that a criminal history check revealed that Christie had prior convictions for oral sexual penetration of a child less than thirteen years old and interstate transportation of child pornography.

On March 25, 2004, the magistrate judge signed a search warrant permitting police to search and seize, inter alia, computer equipment, data and memory storage devices, computer files, photographs, or any other visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, found in the “[rjesidence of Thomas Christie at 3418 Seminole Drive, Shreveport, Louisiana 71107.” The following morning, agents executed the search warrant. Instead of entering by force, agents called Christie who returned home and, after being told that the agents had a search warrant, opened the garage door and allowed the agents to enter the residence through a door in the garage leading to the interior of the home. Once inside, agents seized three hard drives from two computers, all of which contained child pornography. Two of the hard drives were from a computer located in the living room/guest bedroom area; the third hard drive was from a computer located in an interior room that was used as a business office. On October 13, 2004, Christie was indicted on one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B). 1

*334 On June 3, 2005, Christie moved to suppress the evidence of child pornography-discovered on the computer located in the business office within his residence. In support of his motion, Christie testified that the office was for Creative Home Improvement Services (“CHIS”), a construction business in which he was a fifty-percent owner. He testified that the business office had two entrances, one exterior door in the garage and one interior door in the residence, both of which were marked with placards identifying the room as a business office. He conceded that the sign on the exterior door in the garage “probably fell off’ because it was secured with scotch tape “and it does fall down.” He also admitted that if the interior door was open, agents would not have seen the business placard on the outside of the interior door because the door opens against the wall. Christie testified, however, that there were other indications that a business was being conducted in his residence, including a trailer with a sign on it parked outside the residence, vehicles with signs on them parked in the driveway, and construction-related tools and equipment located on the side of the house.

In opposition to Christie’s motion to suppress, the government introduced Agent Podboy. Podboy testified that he entered the residence directly through the garage and did not recall seeing the exterior door leading from the garage directly into the business office. He also testified that he did not see any type of business sign inside the garage. As for the interior door in the residence displaying a business sign, Podboy testified that the door was open and unlocked. When questioned about the exterior indications of a business being operated out of the residence, including vehicles displaying the business logo and business equipment and a trailer in the yard, Podboy responded that he was not aware there was a business inside the residence.

On August 12, 2005, the magistrate judge issued a Report and Recommendation denying the motion to suppress. The magistrate judge found, as an initial matter, that the office was not a separate structure but was simply a room within the same structure. He further found that if the garage door to the residence is pulled down in the closed position, as it was when the agents conducted surveillance of the property prior to the search, “there is nothing apparent from viewing the residence which would indicate to anyone that a construction company is operated from an office within the residence.” The magistrate judge rejected the evidence introduced by Christie that there were indications of a business from the exterior of the home. He found that none of the equipment was inconsistent with that found in other yards in the area. With regard to the vehicles, he found that “many employees bring their work-related vehicles home in the evenings, and the mere presence of a vehicle or small flatbed trailer bearing a company’s designation would not necessarily lead a reasonable agent to believe that a business is being conducted from a home office within the residence.”

The magistrate judge made several findings of fact related to Christie’s argument that the agents knew or should have known there was a business office once they were inside the garage of the residence. First, he found that “[i]f there was a sign on that exterior door [from the garage into the home office] at any time prior to the search, the sign was removed or had fallen off (as it was prone to do) before the search.” Second, he found that the sign on the interior door leading into the office “is not visible if that interior door is left open, and there is no evidence in this case that the door was closed.” *335

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Bluebook (online)
208 F. App'x 332, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-christie-ca5-2006.