United States v. Lewis

576 F. Supp. 330, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11212
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedDecember 1, 1983
DocketCiv. No. 82-80611
StatusPublished

This text of 576 F. Supp. 330 (United States v. Lewis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Lewis, 576 F. Supp. 330, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11212 (E.D. Mich. 1983).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

COHN, District Judge.

I.

Before me are the defendants’ objections to the recommendations contained in the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation of October 3, 1983 that their motions to suppress the fruits of a search of their person following their arrest and to suppress the fruits of a search warrant issued and executed shortly after their arrest be denied.

Defendants were arrested on December 13, 1982. The next day a Drug Enforcement Administration agent obtained a search warrant from a state court judge for defendant Charles Lewis’ (Lewis) residence at 79 Monterey, Highland Park, Michigan. The magistrate’s report fully describes the circumstances of the arrest and the issuance and execution of the search warrant. The magistrate found that the arrest of Lewis was legal but that the arrest of Nelson was illegal and that the search was legal.

Defendants contend that the affidavit in support of the search warrant was legally insufficient. The government contends otherwise.

The government does not object to the magistrate’s determination that defendant Delmar Nelson’s (Nelson) arrest was illegal. Nelson claims that as a consequence of his illegal arrest his fingerprints and the fruits of the use of his fingerprints should be suppressed. Nelson also argues that inaccurate statements in the warrant vitiate it. The government contends otherwise.

II.

As to Nelson’s fingerprints, they should be suppressed. Davis v. Mississippi, 394 U.S. 721, 89 S.Ct. 1394, 22 L.Ed.2d 676 (1969). However, in view of the government’s assertion that its fingerprint expert utilized a lawfully obtained set of Nelson’s fingerprints the admissibility of the fingerprint identification on coin envelopes seized during the course of the search at 79 Monterey must abide the proofs at trial.

As to the alleged inaccuracies in the affidavit, the magistrate’s report fully discusses this claim and comes to the correct conclusion. There is no evidence that the agent signing the affidavit lied or acted with a reckless disregard for the truth or entertained serious doubts about the information stated in his affidavit. Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978).

III.

As to the affidavit for the search warrant, the issue is whether it indicates reasonable grounds to believe that the Monterey residence contained narcotics. United States v. Eisner, 297 F.2d 595, 597 (6th Cir.1962). The affidavit “must be tested and interpreted by magistrates and courts in a common sense and realistic fashion.” United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 108, 85 S.Ct. 741, 745, 13 L.Ed.2d 684 (1965). There is a presumption that a [332]*332magistrate has properly performed his duty with regard to whether an affidavit for a search warrant shows probable cause. See United States v. Giacalone, 541 F.2d 508, 513-514 (6th Cir.1976). As explained in Illinois v. Gates, — U.S.-, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983), probable cause exists where there is a “fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place.”

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Related

United States v. Ventresca
380 U.S. 102 (Supreme Court, 1965)
Davis v. Mississippi
394 U.S. 721 (Supreme Court, 1969)
Franks v. Delaware
438 U.S. 154 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Illinois v. Gates
462 U.S. 213 (Supreme Court, 1983)
United States v. Samson Eisner
297 F.2d 595 (Sixth Circuit, 1962)
United States v. William Lloyd Bailey
458 F.2d 408 (Ninth Circuit, 1972)
United States v. Clyde Winton Jenkins
525 F.2d 819 (Sixth Circuit, 1975)
United States v. Leonard Joel Dubrofsky
581 F.2d 208 (Ninth Circuit, 1978)
United States v. Eugene Andrew Anthony Algie
721 F.2d 1039 (Sixth Circuit, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
576 F. Supp. 330, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11212, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-lewis-mied-1983.