Copley v. Commonwealth, 361 S.W.3d 902

Deputy Cain swore the search-warrant affidavit before a notary (Anita C. Hardy) who was not authorized to administer oaths by a written county judge order.
There was no available circuit court judge, district judge, or trial commissioner, so Circuit Court Clerk Kerr reviewed the affidavit and issued the warrant.
Police executed the warrant on November 8, 2007, seizing items including shell casings and blood swabs from Copley's residence.
On April 9, 2008, Copley moved to suppress the evidence; the parties later stipulated Hardy was not authorized to administer oaths under RCr 2.02, and the court found the violation to be technical.
On November 16, 2010, Copley pled guilty to murder and received a twenty-year sentence; he appealed, challenging the warrant’s validity and the denial of suppression.
The Kentucky Supreme Court held the rule violation was not of constitutional magnitude, there was no prejudice, and there was no deliberate disregard, so suppression was not warranted and the judgment was affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the oath defect required suppression under RCr 2.02/13.10 and the Fourth Amendment	Copley argues the warrant is invalid and suppressible	Commonwealth contends the defect was technical and non-prejudicial	No suppression required; defect non-constitutional
Whether the violation infringed the defendant’s constitutional rights	Rights were violated by improper oath	Rights safeguarded; no constitutional infringement	Not infringed; exclusionary rule not triggered
Whether prejudice or bad-faith conduct justifies suppression despite no constitutional violation	There was prejudice or bad faith	No prejudice or deliberate disregard	No suppression; no prejudice and no deliberate disregard
Whether the evidence should be suppressed under a good-faith/totality-of-circumstances approach used in prior Kentucky cases	Precedents require suppression for any procedural defect	Precedent allows admission when constitutional rights preserved	Evidence admitted; rule violation did not affect due process or prejudice

Commonwealth v. Wilson, 610 S.W.2d 896 (Ky.App. 1980) (upheld warrant despite untimely filing; constitutional rights not violated by inadvertence)
McRay v. Commonwealth, 675 S.W.2d 397 (Ky.App. 1984) (warrant valid under totality of circumstances; good faith; prevented prejudice)
Commonwealth v. Hubble, 730 S.W.2d 532 (Ky. App. 1987) (upheld warrant despite failure to file copy; rule is procedural; not necessarily due process violation)
Robinson v. Commonwealth, 550 S.W.2d 496 (Ky. 1977) (upheld warrant with erroneous fact due to probable cause; honest mistake)
McRay v. United States, — (—) ((referenced as Kentucky precedent similar to good faith/ prejudice approach))
United States v. Searp, 586 F.2d 1117 (6th Cir. 1978) (prejudice or bad faith required for suppression when no constitutional violation)
United States v. Vasser, 648 F.2d 507 (9th Cir. 1980) (prejudice or deliberate disregard required for non-constitutional-rule violations)