United States v. Laureano Velez

210 F. Supp. 2d 54, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13195, 2002 WL 1483268
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJuly 8, 2002
DocketCR. 01-699(SEC)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 210 F. Supp. 2d 54 (United States v. Laureano Velez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Laureano Velez, 210 F. Supp. 2d 54, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13195, 2002 WL 1483268 (prd 2002).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

CASELLAS, District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendant’s second motion to suppress evidence (Docket # 25) seized during a warrantless search of his home. Having considered Defendant’s arguments, as well as -the Government’s response to said motion (Docket # 26), Defendant’s motion will be-DENIED.

Factual Background

In this case, Defendant previously filed a motion to suppress which was denied by this Court. We held that it was not necessary to hold an evidentiary hearing to determine the relevant factual background regarding Defendant’s motion to suppress. In his motion, Defendant stated that the Government’s version of the facts pointed to a situation where there were exigent circumstances which allowed the police officers to conduct a search of Defendant’s house. Defendant, of course, argued that there were no such circumstances, and that he never consented to the search.

However, the Government, in their response, did not argue exigent circumstances. The Government, instead, relied on a sworn statement made by Defendant to a local prosecutor after his arrest. The Government was willing to concede the facts as described by Defendant in said statement. Based on that set of facts, the Government argued that the search of Defendant’s house was conducted pursuant to Defendant’s consent.

On that occasion, we explained that Defendant’s laconic and conclusory allegations were not enough to raise an issue of fact when faced with the sworn statement that the Government had presented with its opposition. Therefore, we denied Defendant’s request for an evidentiary hearing and denied the motion.

Now; Defendant has filed a second motion to suppress the same evidence. He claims that the sworn statement in which he explained how he consented to the search, was given under coercion. He alleges that the police officers who arrested *56 him, threatened to prosecute his wife if he did not provide them with said sworn statement. Furthermore, he argues that he never consented to the search and that the facts, as described in said statement, were inaccurate, and the fruit of the police officers’ coercion. The Government, in its response, reiterates its previous arguments and denies any such misconduct. We must again consider whether Defendant’s allegations are enough to establish an issue 'of material fact which would necessitate the holding of an evidentiary hearing.

Applicable Law and Analysis

A criminal defendant is not entitled, as a matter of right, to an evidentiary hearing on every motion that he chooses to file. United States v. Staula, 80 F.3d 596, 603 (1st Cir.1996); United States v. Pellerito, 878 F.2d 1535, 1545 (1st Cir.1989). “A hearing is required only if the movant makes a sufficient threshold showing that material facts are in doubt or dispute, and that such facts cannot reliably be resolved on a paper record.” Staula, 80 F.3d at 603. See also United States v. Lilly, 983 F.2d 300, 310-11 (1st Cir.1992). “Most importantly, the defendant must show that there are factual disputes which, if resolved in his favor, would entitle him to the requested relief.” Id. See, e.g., Lilly, 983 F.2d at 310-11. The First Circuit has held that district .courts have considerable discretion in determining the need for eviden-tiary hearings. Id. See also United States v. Lewis, 40 F.3d 1325, 1332 (1st Cir.1994); United States v. McAndrews, 12 F.3d 273, 280 (1st Cir.1993).

In particular, evidentiary hearings on motions to suppress are required only when a defendant makes a sufficient showing that an illegal search has occurred. Lewis, 40 F.3d at 1325. “To make this showing the defendant must allege facts, sufficiently definite, specific, detailed, and nonconjecturai, to enable the court to conclude that, a substantial claim is presented.” Id. (citations omitted). We should note that “[irrespective of the underlying burdens on the merits of Defendant’s motions, Defendant bears the burden of showing disputed, material facts sufficient to merit an evidentiary hearing.” U.S.A. v. Council, 1998 WL 132766 (E.D.La.1998) (emphasis added).

In Lewis, the court found that such a showing had not been made by the defendants. Defendants in that case only provided an affidavit prepared by one of their attorneys, who had no first-hand knowledge of the relevant events. Id. Said affidavit contained only conclusory allegations that the police lacked probable cause or a reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity when they arrested the defendants. Id. In contrast, the government had filed detailed affidavits sworn out by police officers in'support of its opposition to the motion to suppress. Given this scenario, the First Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the affidavit in support of the defendants’ motion to suppress did not allege facts that were “sufficiently definite, specific, detailed, and nonconjec-turai to enable the court to conclude that a substantial claim [was] presented. Thus, the district court was completely justified in refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing where the factual matters were essentially uncontested.” Id. (emphasis added).

Another First Circuit case regarding this type of evidentiary hearing is United States v. Calderón, 77 F.3d 6 (1st Cir.1996). In that case, the eourt repeated the standard set out in Lewis regarding - the showing that a defendant must make to be granted an evidentiary hearing for his motion to suppress. Id. at 9. Defendant in Calderón did not file any affidavits in support of his motion, whereas the prosecution provided copies of the police reports *57 to support their version of facts. Id. The district court explained its denial of defendant’s motion to suppress without an evi-dentiary hearing by pointing out that the defendant offered no affidavits or statements, described no circumstances supporting his assertion, and made no offer of proof relative to any other facts that might support his assertion. Id. This was true in spite of the fact the Defendant alleged that the person who consented to the search could not understand English, and was disoriented and coerced by the police officers. Id. His bare allegations, absent an affidavit from the person who consented, on whose state of mind his motion so heavily relied, were not enough to establish an issue of fact. Id. The First Circuit court found no basis to disturb the district court’s decision. Id. This situation is indistinguishable from the case at bar. See also, United States v. Teasley,

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Bluebook (online)
210 F. Supp. 2d 54, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13195, 2002 WL 1483268, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-laureano-velez-prd-2002.