United States v. Cochrane

715 F. Supp. 23, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6864, 1989 WL 66653
CourtDistrict Court, D. Rhode Island
DecidedJune 9, 1989
DocketCrim. Nos. 88-065-01 P, 88-065-02 P
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 715 F. Supp. 23 (United States v. Cochrane) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Cochrane, 715 F. Supp. 23, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6864, 1989 WL 66653 (D.R.I. 1989).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

PETTINE, Senior District Judge.

Defendants Rickie Cochrane and Joni Seplocha have moved to suppress the fruits of a search of 875 Branch Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island. They have raised several issues as to the legality of the search, specifically:

1) whether the judge who issued the search warrant was acting as a “neutral and detached magistrate”;
2) whether the affidavit was sufficient to establish the probable cause necessary for the search;
3) whether the search for drugs, requested in the Complaint to Search, was merely a pretext for a search for information about an armored car robbery;
4) whether the police officer who executed the warrant followed the proper procedure regarding knocking and announcing; and
5) whether the prosecutor transgressed the boundaries of permissible prosecu-torial conduct.

The Government argues, in its memorandum, that some of these issues (1, 3 and 4) were raised for the first time at the hearing before the magistrate. I will not address this point, however, because my ruling is based on the insufficiency of the affidavit (2, above).

THE SEARCH WARRANT

James P. Mullen, a Corporal of the Rhode Island State Police, signed a Complaint to Search and Seize Property and presented it, along with an affidavit also [25]*25signed by him, to Judge Albert DeRobbio of the District Court of the State of Rhode Island. The Complaint described the property to be searched for and/or seized as “Cocaine, Heroin, Marijuana and implements used for the administering [of] cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and records of controlled substance transactions and names and addresses and telephone numbers of customers and suppliers of controlled substances as well as proceeds from controlled substance transactions such as United States currency and also implements used in the packaging and sale of said cocaine, heroin and marijuana.” The name of the owner or keeper of the property was listed as “Rickie A. Cochrane 3-14-52 alias John Doe” and “Joni Seplocha 11-11-52”. The place to be searched was listed as “875 Branch Avenue Floor 1 rear Providence, R.I. described as a two story dwelling color beige and white numbered 875.” The complaint also stated: “Your complainant prays that said warrant may be served in the nighttime for the reason that: This investigation has revealed that criminal activity is taking place during the evening hours.” The Search Warrant recites the same information and is addressed to “An Officer authorized by law to execute the within warrant, Based on an affidavit of Corporal James P. Mullen”. The Complaint, Search Warrant and affidavit are all dated May 18, 1988.

The Search Warrant states in printed text: “Complaint and affidavit having been made to me under oath, and as I am satisfied that there is probable cause for the belief therein set forth that grounds for issuing a search warrant exist, you are hereby commanded to diligently search the place or person herein described for the property specified....” Defendants now ask this Court to review that determination of probable cause, seeking a finding that there was no probable cause to support the issuance of the warrant and, therefore, that the fruits of the search should be suppressed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

These motions to suppress were assigned for hearing before the United States magistrate pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 636(b). Accord Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b). Pursuant to that statute, the magistrate conducted a hearing on February 13, and 14,1989, and submitted a recommendation for disposition of the matter, including proposed findings of fact. The magistrate recommended that none of the evidence seized during the May 1988 search of the Branch Avenue apartment be suppressed. The defendants filed timely objections to the proposed findings and recommendation, and the government timely responded. I then ordered a hearing to allow the parties to present additional evidence on certain aspects of the suppression motions; I heard the parties on March 30 and April 10, 1989.

The statute requires that the district judge “make a de novo determination of those portions of the ... specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made. A judge of the court may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate. The judge may also receive further evidence....” See United States v. Raddatz, 447 U.S. 667, 100 S.Ct. 2406, 65 L.Ed.2d 424 (1980) (discussing the de novo determination by the district judge).

Although I am required to make a de novo determination of several aspects of the recommended denial of the motion to suppress because defendants have made specific written objection to them, it must be noted that in reviewing the determination of probable cause made by the issuing judge, I do not consider what I would do if presented with this affidavit. Rather, I must make my determination according to this standard: was there a substantial basis for the issuing judge to find that probable cause to search existed. Massachusetts v. Upton, 466 U.S. 727, 728, 104 S.Ct. 2085, 2086, 80 L.Ed.2d 721 (1984). This review is made on the basis of the information presented to the issuing judge at the time the warrant was issued. A defective warrant cannot be resuscitated by consideration of additional information now avail[26]*26able or even of information available when the warrant was obtained but which was not communicated to the issuing judge. See United States v. Badessa, 752 F.2d 771, 774 (1st Cir.1985) (special perception of law enforcement officers is inoperative to support probable cause unless it is communicated by them to the decision-maker, the issuing judge).

The source of information for the judge in determining that probable cause for the search did exist was the affidavit. Defendants contend that the affidavit was deficient in several ways. After considering all the evidence presented, I find that the affidavit was in fact deficient in that it did not provide sufficient information from which the issuing judge could find that probable cause to search the apartment for drugs and the other enumerated items existed.

STANDING

The government has not raised the issue of standing, but the First Circuit has held that “Unless and until the ‘standing’ threshold is crossed, the bona fides of the search and seizure are not put legitimately into issue.” United States v. Aquirre, 839 F.2d 854 (1988). For this reason, I note briefly that I find that these defendants do have the requisite reasonable expectation of privacy in the area searched (here, the apartment at 875 Branch Avenue) and proprietary interest in the items seized.

The Franks v. Delaware issue

The defendants filed separate motions to suppress the fruits of a search of 875 Branch Avenue.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
715 F. Supp. 23, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6864, 1989 WL 66653, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-cochrane-rid-1989.