56 F.4th 1145
8th Cir.2023Background
- Justin Thabit was on parole and signed a warrantless-search waiver covering his person, residence, and vehicle.
- Thabit listed his mother’s address as his residence and missed parole appointments; an absconder warrant issued.
- Investigator Martin received an unrecorded CI tip that Thabit was staying at a residence with a woman and selling drugs there.
- On June 18, 2019 officers observed Thabit leaving Stacia Frase’s house, arrested him on the absconder warrant, then conducted a warrantless full search of Frase’s home and seized guns and drugs.
- Thabit moved to suppress the search evidence; the district court granted suppression for lack of reasonable suspicion that he resided at Frase’s home. The government appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Thabit’s Argument | Government’s Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proper standard to treat a third‑party dwelling as a parolee’s “residence” for a warrantless search under the parolee’s waiver | Probable cause required (not reasonable suspicion) | Probable cause or at least reasonable suspicion sufficed | Court holds probable cause is required for searching a third‑party dwelling as a parolee’s residence |
| Whether officers had probable cause to believe Thabit resided at Frase’s home | Lacked probable cause; CI tip uncorroborated and mere proximity insufficient | CI tip + observation of Thabit leaving the residence sufficed for probable cause or reasonable suspicion | No probable cause shown; suppression affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112 (2001) (balancing test for searches of probationers/parolees)
- Samson v. California, 547 U.S. 843 (2006) (parolees have diminished Fourth Amendment protections)
- United States v. Reed, 921 F.3d 751 (8th Cir. 2019) (reasonable‑belief standard for entering a residence to serve an arrest warrant)
- United States v. Lucas, 499 F.3d 769 (8th Cir. en banc) (applied reasonable suspicion to locate an escapee)
- Motley v. Parks, 432 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 2005) (en banc) (held officers must be reasonably sure they are at the parolee’s house; equated reasonable belief with probable‑cause‑level protection)
- Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983) (probable cause assessed under the totality of the circumstances)
- United States v. Gabrio, 295 F.3d 880 (8th Cir. 2002) (CI reliability and corroboration can support probable cause)