United States v. O'Neill

27 F. Supp. 2d 1121, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16710, 1998 WL 736358
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedOctober 19, 1998
Docket2:97-cr-00098
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 27 F. Supp. 2d 1121 (United States v. O'Neill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. O'Neill, 27 F. Supp. 2d 1121, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16710, 1998 WL 736358 (E.D. Wis. 1998).

Opinion

ORDER

STADTMUELLER, Chief Judge.

On June 3,1998, Magistrate Judge William E. Callahan, Jr. issued a recommendation and order addressing the second round of pretrial motions (“Round II”) in the above-entitled case. The second round of pretrial motions includes motions to suppress and motions to dismiss based upon evidentiary arguments. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A), the defendants filed objections to the magistrate’s recommendation and order. On July 30, 1998, the government filed its response to many of the defendants’ objections. The court will address the issues in the same order as presented by the magistrate where possible.

I. Motions Regarding the Title III Intercepts

Magistrate Callahan denied defendant Kevin P. O’Neill’s “Motion for Discovery Related to Motion to Suppress Title III Evidence” (joined by defendant Meinen), Recommendation and Order at 57, and recommended the denial of O’Neill’s “Omnibus Motion to Suppress Evidence Intercepted or Gathered under Title III” (joined by defendants Kruppstadt, McVay, Meinen, Powers, and Blake). Recommendation and Order at 25, 27, 41, 50, 55. O’Neill now objects to the magistrate’s Recommendation and Order at, inter aha, pages 25, 27, and 41.

A. Probable Cause and Title III Intercepts, Recommendation and Order at 25-26

Magistrate Callahan recommended the rejection of O’Neill’s motion to suppress to the extent that such motion was grounded on the argument of the lack of probable cause and/or lack of necessity. Recommendation and Order at 25. The entirety of O’Neill’s objection to the recommendation regarding alleged lack of probable cause is as follows:

Before a Title III order is given, an application must demonstrate probable cause (sec.2518(l)(b) and (3)[sic]). This *1126 must include probable cause to [sic] the individuals, or targets, to [sic] the particular communications, and to [sic] the particular facilities. Based upon his motion and prior brief and memorandum, Defendant O’Neill objects to and disputes the Magistrate’s findings, and ultimate ruling as proclaimed at page 25.

Defendant O’Neill’s Memorandum in Support of Objections to the Magistrate’s Recommendation and Order (Second Submission on Objections to the Order) (hereinafter “O’Neill’s Second Objections”) at 3-4.

Generalized objections, absent specific legal authority, do not invoke the district court’s obligation to perform a de novo review of a magistrate’s decision: “De novo review of a magistrate judge’s recommendation is required only for those portions of the recommendation for which particularized objections, accompanied by legal authority and argument in support of the objections, are made.” Banta Corp. v. Hunter Publ’g Ltd., 915 F.Supp. 80, 81 (E.D.Wis.1995). “[Without specific reference to portions of the magistrate’s decision and legal discussion on the objected portion, the district court’s duty to make a de novo determination does not arise. The general statements that a party ‘objects’ and ‘incorporates all arguments previously made to the magistrate’ will not suffice.” United States v. Molinaro, 683 F.Supp. 205, 211 (E.D.Wis.1988); see also Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 149, 106 S.Ct. 466, 88 L.Ed.2d 435 (1985) (holding that “[s]ection 636(b)(1)(C) ... does not on its face require any review at all ... of any issue that is not the subject of an objection”).

Therefore, defendant O’Neill’s generalized objection to the recommendation regarding alleged lack of probable cause does not invoke this court’s duty to review the magistrate’s recommendation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) and Local Rule 13.03(c). For this reason, the court will not perform a de novo review and will therefore adopt the magistrate’s recommendation to deny O’Neill’s motion to suppress to the extent that such motion was grounded on the argument of lack of probable cause. 1

O’Neill also objects to the magistrate’s recommendation that this court reject O’Neill’s motion to suppress to the extent that such motion was grounded on the argument of lack of necessity. Recommendation and Order at 25. O’Neill’s objection to this recommendation is also quite succinct:

Defendant O’Neill has made extensive arguments on this issue in prior submissions, and will not duplicate them here, but asks that this Court review these carefully in addressing this issue. One major theme presented there is that the necessity portions of the applications are nearly identical in each application and continuing applications. These are not only redundant, but they are all based on affidavits signed by a witness whose credibility has been called into question around [sic] these issues. Yet the Magistrate, in reviewing this issue, simply takes statements from this agent’s affidavits as explanation as well as findings that necessity exists. Such reliance is misplaced and insufficient. This Court must have a hearing on the true “necessity” of these Title III intrusions.

O’Neill’s Second Objections at 4-5.

As stated above, general statements of objection and blanket references to arguments previously made to the magistrate will not suffice. See Molinaro, 683 F.Supp. at 211. Regarding O’Neill’s argument that the identity of necessity sections of the surveillance applications somehow calls their validity into question, O’Neill has not presented any legal support for this argument. If anything, the consistency and thoroughness of these sections indicates that the government exhausted all other possible avenues of investigation, which, as Magistrate Callahan noted, is the important issue here. Regarding O’Neill’s cursory argument that the credibility of the witness who signed the affidavits supporting the surveillance applications “has been called into question,” the court refuses to reject the magistrate’s well-reasoned and comprehensive recommendation regarding necessity on the basis of such a flimsy and unsupported *1127 accusation. Therefore, the court will adopt the magistrate’s recommendation to deny O’Neill’s motion to suppress to the extent that this motion was grounded on the argument of lack of necessity.

B. Use of Evidence to Prove Crimes Not Listed In Intercept Orders, Recommendation and Order at 27-40

O’Neill also objects to the magistrate’s recommendation to deny O’Neill’s motion to suppress to the extent the motion argues that all electronic surveillance applications and orders are invalid because they refer to 18 U.S.C. § 842(h), a crime not specified in Title III, 18 U.S.C. § 2516(1) (section 2516(1) lists offenses for which orders authorizing electronic surveillance may be granted).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
27 F. Supp. 2d 1121, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16710, 1998 WL 736358, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-oneill-wied-1998.