United States v. Jennings, 0:21-cr-60193

Background

On May 19, 2021, Broward County officers stopped Kieon Jennings as he was backing out of his home driveway after confirming via DAVID that his license was suspended. The vehicle sat partly on the driveway and partly over the public sidewalk.
Jennings exited the vehicle and was detained on the public sidewalk; officers found seven Percocet pills on his person and observed a firearm on the driver’s floorboard. An inventory search of the vehicle recovered a scale and a bag with fentanyl, crack, and powder cocaine.
Jennings was charged with possession with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. A magistrate judge later issued a warrant to obtain Jennings’s oral DNA swabs based on an affidavit stating a known DNA sample was required to analyze swabs taken from the firearm.
The affidavit did not disclose that DNA recovered from the firearm had not been analyzed (and thus its suitability for comparison was unknown). Officers nonetheless executed the warrant and obtained oral swabs.
The district court held (1) the arrest and vehicle search occurred outside the home’s curtilage (the area beyond the fenced front yard and sidewalk) and therefore did not violate the Fourth Amendment; and (2) the DNA warrant lacked probable cause because no case-specific analysis of the firearm DNA had been shown, but suppression was not required because officers reasonably relied on the warrant (Leon good-faith exception). A Franks hearing was denied.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the warrantless arrest/search occurred on curtilage so as to require a warrant	Arrest occurred outside curtilage (beyond fenced front yard and on public sidewalk); arrest and search lawful	Driveway abutting house is presumptively curtilage; arrest/search violated Fourth Amendment	The portion of the driveway/sidewalk beyond the fenced front yard was not curtilage; arrest and search were lawful
Whether the DNA warrant was supported by probable cause	Warrant valid because officers needed a known DNA sample and probable cause that Jennings committed crimes justified the swab	Affidavit omitted that firearm DNA had not been analyzed; no case-specific showing that defendant’s DNA would yield probative evidence	Warrant lacked probable cause because the affidavit did not show that evidence DNA was analyzable or that Jennings’s DNA would likely be probative
Whether evidence obtained by the DNA warrant must be suppressed or is admissible under good-faith exception	Even if affidavit was deficient, officers reasonably relied on the warrant and Leon good-faith exception applies	(Did not press response to good faith)	Good-faith exception applies; evidence admissible despite deficient probable cause showing
Whether a Franks hearing is required to challenge the affidavit	Affidavit statements were not deliberately or recklessly false; putative omission insufficiently shown	Affidavit contained false/omitted material facts justifying a Franks hearing	No substantial preliminary showing of deliberate or reckless falsehood; Franks hearing denied

Key Cases Cited

Silverman v. United States, 365 U.S. 505 (establishes home sanctuary principle under Fourth Amendment)
Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (warrantless entry into home generally unreasonable)
Florida v. Jardines, 569 U.S. 1 (curtilage is part of home for Fourth Amendment)
Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170 (discussion of curtilage and home protection)
United States v. Dunn, 480 U.S. 294 (four-factor Dunn test for curtilage)
Collins v. Virginia, 138 S. Ct. 1663 (parsing driveway into curtilage and non-curtilage portions)
United States v. Delva, 922 F.3d 1228 (11th Cir. discussion of driveway/curtilage in light of Collins)
United States v. Stephen, [citation="823 F. App'x 751"] (11th Cir. applying Dunn factors and parsing driveway portions)
Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives’ Ass’n, 489 U.S. 602 (collection of biological samples is a Fourth Amendment search)
Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton, 515 U.S. 646 (warrant and probable-cause principles apply to searches for evidence)
United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (good-faith exception to exclusionary rule)
Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (standard for demanding a Franks hearing)
Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757 (blood test exception where evidence is actively dissipating)
Herring v. United States, 555 U.S. 135 (permitting reliance on erroneous but not reckless official records under good-faith rationale)
Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (exclusionary rule doctrine)
Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128 (plain view doctrine requires lawful presence)