United States v. David Church, Jr.
823 F.3d 351
6th Cir.2016Background
- Detectives arrested David Church at his home for a probation violation; with his consent they entered the house where officers smelled burnt marijuana and Church showed a recently smoked marijuana blunt.
- Church’s girlfriend told police Church regularly smoked marijuana in the residence.
- Detective Moseley prepared a warrant affidavit (using boilerplate language listing RICO, money laundering, and drug trafficking) requesting authority to search for controlled substances, paraphernalia, records, weapons, and proceeds.
- A magistrate issued the warrant; search uncovered ~4.8 grams marijuana, 8 loose Dilaudid pills, and a locked safe. Church refused to provide the safe code; police forced it open and found 800 Dilaudid pills and a loaded .40-caliber handgun.
- Church moved to suppress; district court denied the motion. Church pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute hydromorphone and being a felon in possession of a firearm and appealed the suppression ruling.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of warrant given affidavit showed only simple possession | Affidavit established probable cause only for simple possession, not trafficking; warrant was defective for authorizing evidence of a different crime | Warrant need only show probable cause that contraband is present in the place to be searched; affidavit showed marijuana was present | Affirmed: magistrate had probable cause to issue warrant to search for contraband in the house; presence of contraband satisfied nexus to place searched |
| Staleness of affidavit | Affidavit failed to date events and thus may be stale | Affidavit’s facts (recently smoked blunt, admissions, girlfriend’s statements) conveyed fresh information; technical lack of dates not fatal | Affirmed: no plain error — affidavit contained sufficiently recent information to support probable cause |
| Destruction of property (prying open safe) | Forcible opening of safe was unreasonable; officers could have sought manufacturer’s assistance | Warrant authorized search of containers where contraband might be; officers reasonably opened safe after Church refused combination | Affirmed: entry into and forcible opening of safe was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment |
| Good-faith reliance on a possibly overbroad boilerplate affidavit (concurring opinion) | Warrant boilerplate authorized broad crimes (RICO, money laundering, trafficking) from minor-possession facts — overreaching | Even if overbroad, a reasonably well-trained officer could have relied on the magistrate’s warrant (Leon) given the close relation between possession and trafficking and the on-site observations | Concurrence: would affirm under Leon good-faith exception; suppression not warranted because officer reliance was objectively reasonable |
Key Cases Cited
- Zurcher v. Stanford Daily, 436 U.S. 547 (warrants target places/things, not persons)
- Warden, Md. Penitentiary v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294 (contraband exception to nexus requirement)
- Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (totality-of-the-circumstances "fair probability" standard for probable cause)
- United States v. Hodson, 543 F.3d 286 (probable cause for one crime does not automatically authorize search for evidence of a different crime)
- United States v. Brooks, 594 F.3d 488 (smell/observable marijuana can support probable cause to search)
- United States v. Brown, 732 F.3d 569 (deferential review of magistrate’s warrant decision)
- United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798 (search of premises extends to containers where listed items may be hidden)
- Dalia v. United States, 441 U.S. 238 (officers may damage property reasonably in executing warrants)
- United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (good-faith exception to exclusionary rule)