United States v. Mario Rainone, 816 F.3d 490

In Jan 2009 Addison Police attached a GPS device to Rainone’s car without a warrant; GPS data led to his arrest for residential burglary in Feb 2009.
Police obtained a warrant to search Rainone’s condominium after the arrest and found a .357 revolver in the southeast bedroom nightstand plus items tying Rainone to that room.
Rainone was indicted federally for possession of a firearm by a felon under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g); trial in Feb 2013 focused solely on whether he possessed the gun.
Roommate Michele Cozzo (immunized) testified Rainone lived in the southeast bedroom but others had keys and sometimes entered the room; she never saw a gun.
Registered owner Bryan Thalin testified the gun was stolen from his home in Oct 2008 and that he had never seen Rainone.
The district court refused to suppress evidence from the GPS surveillance, instructed the jury on joint possession over Rainone’s objection, admitted Thalin’s testimony, and the jury convicted; Rainone appeals.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the joint-possession jury instruction was proper	Instruction unsupported by evidence and overbroad; relieved government’s burden	Evidence showed others had access to the room; instruction reflected circuit precedent	Affirmed — instruction supported by evidence and law; not misleading
Whether evidence from warrantless GPS monitoring should be suppressed under Jones	GPS search unconstitutional post-Jones; suppression required	Good-faith exception applies because Seventh Circuit precedent allowed warrantless GPS pre-Jones	Affirmed — exclusionary rule inapplicable; officers reasonably relied on binding circuit precedent
Whether state-law limits on GPS admissibility should control	Illinois law/good-faith rule should bar evidence because state officers conducted search	Federal law controls admissibility in federal prosecution; apply federal good-faith precedent	Affirmed — federal law governs admissibility; state law irrelevant
Whether testimony that the gun was stolen was unfairly prejudicial	Testimony irrelevant and risked propensity inference that jurors would think Rainone stole the gun	Testimony was probative (identified owner, timing of theft) and risk of unfair prejudice was slight	Affirmed — evidence was relevant, probative, and any prejudice did not warrant exclusion

United States v. Garcia, 474 F.3d 994 (7th Cir.) (pre-Jones Seventh Circuit precedent allowing warrantless GPS installation)
United States v. Brown, 744 F.3d 474 (7th Cir.) (applies good-faith exception to pre-Jones GPS surveillance)
United States v. Taylor, 776 F.3d 513 (7th Cir.) (reiterates Brown; pre-Jones circuit precedent shields GPS evidence)
United States v. Lawrence, 788 F.3d 234 (7th Cir.) (joint-possession instruction appropriate for contraband in jointly occupied residence)
United States v. Aldaco, 201 F.3d 979 (7th Cir.) (upholds joint-possession instruction where multiple persons present)
United States v. Thornton, 463 F.3d 693 (7th Cir.) (approved substantially similar joint-possession instruction)
United States v. Jones, 132 S. Ct. 945 (U.S.) (attaching a GPS device to a vehicle is a Fourth Amendment search)
Elkins v. United States, 364 U.S. 206 (U.S.) (federal courts apply federal Fourth Amendment test to state-conducted searches)
Davis v. United States, 131 S. Ct. 2419 (U.S.) (good-faith exception where officers reasonably rely on binding precedent)