United States v. McCauley
2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 20206
| 7th Cir. | 2011Background
- Police investigated a September 11, 2008 assault involving Neeley; Neeley identified two perpetrators as Richardson (with electronic monitoring) and a shorter, lighter man matching McCauley; Neeley provided a residence address; Wiza learned the targets matched the descriptions and proceeded to the apartment; McCauley was stopped and pat-searched, revealing crack cocaine and MDMA; suppression motion denied; McCauley pled guilty but reserved appeal on suppression; at sentencing, the court applied a weapon enhancement and imposed the 60-month statutory minimum; McCauley challenged the arrest-based suppression and the weapon enhancement on appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probable cause to arrest McCauley | McCauley: description too bare for arrest | McCauley: reliance on bare description insufficient | Probable cause existed based on totality of circumstances |
| Applicability of the weapons enhancement | Government: Richardson’s testimony supports weapon use | McCauley: lacked participation in assault; enhancement unwarranted | Enhancement properly applied; district court’s findings not clearly erroneous |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Villegas, 495 F.3d 761 (7th Cir. 2007) (probable cause and totality of circumstances standard)
- United States v. Askew, 403 F.3d 496 (7th Cir. 2005) (reasonable belief of crime in totality of circumstances)
- Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85 (1980) (mere propinquity to others suspected of crime does not alone establish probable cause)
- Gatlin v. United States, 326 F.2d 666 (D.C. Cir. 1963) (distinguishable from this case; bare descriptions insufficient in some contexts)
- United States v. Short, 570 F.2d 1051 (D.C. Cir. 1978) (investigative stop not arrest based on generic description)
- United States v. Fisher, 702 F.2d 372 (2d Cir. 1983) (bare description insufficient for arrest in similar context)
- Hill v. California, 401 U.S. 797 (1971) (probable cause supports arrest despite mistaken identity where circumstances reasonable)
- United States v. Carpenter, 342 F.3d 812 (7th Cir. 2003) (strongly corroborated description can support arrest)
- Pasiewicz v. Lake County Forest Preserve Dist., 270 F.3d 520 (7th Cir. 2001) (eyewitness information can establish probable cause when credible)
- United States v. Womack, 496 F.3d 791 (7th Cir. 2007) (burden-shifting framework for weapon enhancement)
- United States v. Franklin, 484 F.3d 912 (7th Cir. 2007) (knife in possession; relevance to enhancement)
- United States v. Linnear, 40 F.3d 215 (7th Cir. 1994) (context of weapon-connected offense)
- United States v. Orozco, 576 F.3d 745 (7th Cir. 2009) (gun found near drug-related activity)