United States v. Judd

687 F. Supp. 1052, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5504, 1988 WL 57391
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Mississippi
DecidedMay 3, 1988
DocketCrim. A. CRD 87-50-D
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 687 F. Supp. 1052 (United States v. Judd) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Judd, 687 F. Supp. 1052, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5504, 1988 WL 57391 (N.D. Miss. 1988).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DAVIDSON, District Judge.

This cause is before the court on two of the defendants’ motion to suppress certain evidence obtained in the search of the business offices of Kilgore Mining Company, Inc. (“Kilgore Mining”). Defendants David W. Judd (“Judd”) and Robert N. Puett (“Puett”) claim that part of the search was conducted without the proper authorization of a search warrant and that these business records should be suppressed. The government claims that these defendants lack standing to object to the search of corporate premises and the seizure of corporate records, that the warrant sufficiently described the place to be searched, that Judd consented to the search, and that the F.B.I. agents acted reasonably in executing the search warrant.

After conducting an evidentiary hearing on this matter and reviewing the briefs, exhibits, and the record as a whole, the court finds that defendants Judd and Puett lack standing to challenge the search and seizure of Kilgore Mining business documents, that the F.B.I. agents were acting pursuant to a valid warrant which sufficiently described the location and object of the search, that the F.B.I. agents acted within the bounds of the search warrant, and that they obtained and executed the search warrant reasonably and in good faith. The court therefore denies the defendants’ motion to suppress.

*1054 Findings of Fact

The F.B.I. was conducting an investigation of Kilgore Mining in early 1986 when Wayne Tichenor (“Tichenor”), F.B.I. special agent, sought a search warrant to obtain certain business records from the offices of Kilgore Mining which were at 9172 Highway 61 North, Suite B, Southaven, Mississippi. Tichenor went before U.S. Magistrate Norman Gillespie in Oxford, Mississippi on May 12, 1986 to demonstrate probable cause and seek a search warrant for accounting and banking records thought to be located in the offices of Kilgore Mining on Highway 51 in Southaven, Mississippi. Tichenor presented an affidavit, precisely described the location of the search as “Kilgore Mining Co., Inc.” and detailed the types of business records to be seized.

Tichenor obtained the needed search warrant at 10:25 a.m. in Oxford and proceeded to Highway 51 in Southaven to begin the search around 1:30 p.m. on May 12, 1986. The court takes judicial notice that the distance between Oxford and Southaven is approximately 70 miles and would take approximately one and one-half hours to travel by automobile. The search warrant authorized the F.B.I. agents to search the premises known as “Kilgore Mining Co., Inc., 9172 Highway 51 N., Suite B., Southaven, MS” and to seize “[a]ll business records and documents of Kilgore Mining Co., Inc.,” and specified various business records expected to be found in the Kilgore Mining offices.

Upon arrival at the Kilgore Mining offices, Tichenor and the other F.B.I. agents identified themselves and presented a copy of the search warrant to Judd, who was present on the premises. The F.B.I. agents began searching the office suite at 9172 Highway 51 North, Suite B (“9172 offices”). The F.B.I. agents soon discovered that many of the important business records were no longer located at the 9172 offices. Tichenor approached defendant Judd, president and owner of Kilgore Mining, informed Judd that they were unable to find the bookkeeping and accounting records which they sought, and inquired where these records were. Judd responded by requesting his secretary to show the agents where these records were kept. Judd and his secretary then led Tichenor and the other agents out through the front entrance of the 9172 offices and to the next door which opened into a breezeway which led into Kilgore Mining’s bookkeeping office (“9170 office”).

After hearing the testimony and examining the exhibits, the court finds that the 9170 office was located approximately 25 to 30 feet from the front entrance of the 9172 offices and that they were part of the same office building. The 9170 bookkeeping office had a separate address but was considered part of the 9172 offices by the F.B.I. agents and even Judd himself at the time of the search. The F.B.I. agents used the 9172 address to describe the premises known as Kilgore Mining because that was the address used on various documents in their possession, that was the only address for Kilgore Mining known to the agents and their informant, and that was the only address discovered in their investigation of the location. Tichenor testified that he had investigated the Kilgore Mining offices’ location by checking the city business license, bank records at a local bank, corporate filings with Mississippi’s Secretary of State, and the letterhead on business stationary and found that each of these sources revealed the 9172 B address. In fact, Kilgore Mining had only recently leased the 9170 office and began to use this space as a bookkeeping office the last week of April, 1986. Tichenor had observed the front of the 9172 offices on two previous occasions but was unaware of the existence of the 9170 bookkeeping office off to the side of the 9172 office suite of Kilgore Mining.

After being led to the 9170 bookkeeping office, Tichenor and the other F.B.I. agents searched the premises and found the business records which they sought. Judd and his attorney were both present but made no objection at this point. Tichenor conceded that he probably saw the 9170 number on the glass door at the bookkeeping office but that he considered this office as part of the Kilgore Mining office suite. *1055 Tichenor and the other F.B.I. agents only searched the Kilgore Mining offices located at 9172 and 9170 of the office plaza and only took business records specified in the search warrant. They did not search any other units at the United Plaza location.

Judd’s personal office was located at the 9172 office suite along with a receptionist office, comptroller office, and large office area for salesmen. The bookkeeping office was very small in comparison and was used primarily by a bookkeeper and secretary-treasurer. Neither Judd nor Puett established that they worked out of the 9170 bookkeeping office although Judd was involved in the preparation of some of these documents found in the bookkeeping office.

The Kilgore Mining offices at 9172 and 9170 are not adjacent but are contained in the same building under the same roof. This is complicated by the fact that part of the building was an addition to a previously existing structure. However, the photographs and testimony make clear that the offices are connected and it is reasonable to consider the 9170 bookkeeping office as part of the Kilgore Mining office suite. Tichenor repeatedly testified that he considered the bookkeeping office a separate room of the Kilgore Mining offices although he recognized that the distance between offices could play a factor in whether an office unit should be considered a separate location.

The court notes that the distance between Southaven and Oxford, Mississippi would have made it difficult to drive back to Oxford to get a separate search warrant for the 9170 bookkeeping office. Tichenor testified that he is aware of preprinted documents of consent to search but that he did not have such a form available when the 9170 office was searched.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
687 F. Supp. 1052, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5504, 1988 WL 57391, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-judd-msnd-1988.