United States v. Bain
2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 20032
| 1st Cir. | 2017Background
- Bain was arrested in Malden, Massachusetts; police found keys on him and used them to test doors in a multi-unit building, locating unit D door with the keys.
- Police obtained a warrant to search unit D based on the key-door connection and other facts; the search yielded a firearm, 26.8 grams of heroin/fentanyl, and other items.
- Bain moved to suppress the key-turn entry as an unlawful search and to exclude items found in the search; the district court denied suppression.
- At trial Bain was convicted on multiple drug and firearms counts; the district court imposed a 15-year ACCA mandatory minimum.
- The First Circuit held the key-turn entry was an unlawful search but affirmed the denial of suppression because the search of unit D was conducted under the intervening warrant in good faith.
- The court then addressed evidentiary and sentencing issues, affirming Bain’s conviction and sentence.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was Bain's challenge to the unit D search cognizable (standing) | Bain had an overnight-guest privacy interest in unit D. | Bain's interests as an overnight guest were insufficient to challenge the search. | Bain had standing to challenge the unit D search. |
| Whether turning the key in the lock was a Fourth Amendment search | Testing the key violated Bain's privacy; the act was a search. | Some circuits treat it as non-search or minor intrusion. | Key testing in lock of unit D was a search. |
| Whether the search, though unlawful, was justified by good faith or warrant-based exceptions | Exclusion should apply; evidence tied to unlawful search should be suppressed. | Good faith reliance on a warrant salvages admissibility. | Good faith exception applied; evidence from the warrant was admissible. |
| Admissibility of the credit-card-making machine under Rule 404(b) and 403 | Machine linked to Bain’s control of the unit and money; probative of nexus. | Evidence risked unfair prejudice and was not sufficiently probative. | Admissible with limiting instructions; probative value outweighed prejudice. |
| Whether Bain's Massachusetts conviction for trafficking is an ACCA predicate under the divisible/nondivisible framework | Massachusetts statute qualifies as a serious drug offense; divisible form may predicate ACCA. | Statute divisibility unclear; could be indivisible; plain error standard applies. | Massachusetts statute divisibility unclear; Bain cannot demonstrate plain error; ACCA predicate outcome affirmed. |
Key Cases Cited
- Jardines v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 1409 (Supreme Court, 2013) (physical intrusion onto curtilage constitutes a search absent license or exception)
- Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (Supreme Court, 1967) (two-step test for reasonable expectation of privacy)
- Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (Supreme Court, 2012) (curtilage and trespass-based analysis; fourth amendment protections)
- United States v. Dunn, 480 U.S. 294 (Supreme Court, 1987) (curtilage analysis factors for dwelling privacy)
- Minnesota v. Olson, 495 U.S. 91 (Supreme Court, 1990) (overnight guest gains Fourth Amendment privacy rights)
- United States v. Lyons, 898 F.2d 210 (1st Cir. 1990) (testing keys on locks of storage containers not decisive for home search)
- United States v. Hawkins, 139 F.3d 29 (1st Cir. 1998) (discussed in key-testing context pre-Jardines)
- United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (Supreme Court, 1984) (good-faith reliance on a warrant may salvage admissibility)
- United States v. Concepcion, 942 F.2d 1170 (7th Cir. 1991) (key-in-lock search deemed reasonable under certain circumstances)
- United States v. Alvarez, 661 N.E.2d 1293 (Mass. 1996) (Massachusetts case cited for reasonable-suspicion/standard in key testing context)
- Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243 (Supreme Court, 2016) (categorical approach to divisibility for ACCA predicates)
- Descamps v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2276 (Supreme Court, 2013) (modified categorical approach guidance for divisible statutes)
- Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13 (Supreme Court, 2005) (use of Shepard documents to establish elements for divisibility)
- United States v. Rodriguez, 855 N.E.2d 1113 (Mass. App. Ct. 2007) (Mass. authorities on conviction theories for trafficking)