United States v. Rosas-Illescas
872 F. Supp. 2d 1320
N.D. Ala.2012Background
- ICE received a tip that a previously-deported illegal alien was working at Purple Onion in Pelham, Alabama and drove a red Ford F-150.
- ICE Agent McKenzie attached a GPS device to the Ford on December 5, 2011 without a warrant to track the driver.
- GPS monitoring linked the truck to the Little Mountain Apartments where the driver stayed briefly.
- On December 7, 2011, McKenzie used the GPS to locate the Ford at Five Guys and then followed the driver to the Apartments.
- Pelham Police Officer Johnson stopped the driver for a stop/yield violation; fingerprints were taken and the driver identified as Marcos Rosas-Illescas.
- Over the next two weeks, GPS monitoring continued until December 21 when officers intercepted and arrested Rosas-Illescas; evidence challenged as Fourth Amendment violation
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether warrantless GPS installation was a Fourth Amendment search | Rosas-Illescas argues the GPS install violated the Fourth Amendment | Government argues Jones controls; seeks suppression unless good faith applies | No suppression of identity evidence; court assumes violation but denies suppression on good-faith grounds |
| Whether identity-related evidence is suppressible despite Fourth Amendment violation | Identity evidence should be suppressed if obtained unlawfully | Identity evidence is not suppressible per Farias-Gonzalez despite Fourth Amendment violation | Identity evidence not suppressed despite potential Fourth Amendment violation |
| Whether good-faith exception defeats suppression | Suppression warranted if GPS use violated Fourth Amendment | Good-faith reliance on then-binding law negates deterrence justifying suppression | Good-faith exception applies; suppression not warranted |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Farias-Gonzalez, 556 F.3d 1181 (11th Cir. 2009) (identity evidence not suppressible; social costs of excluding identity evidence high)
- Herring v. United States, 555 U.S. 135 (Supreme Court 2009) (exclusionary rule not warranted where police acted with reasonable good faith)
- Davis v. United States, 131 S. Ct. 2419 (Supreme Court 2011) (good-faith exception when police conduct is objectively reasonable reliance on precedent)
- United States v. Lebowitz, 676 F.3d 1000 (11th Cir. 2012) (good-faith reliance on Eleventh Circuit precedent precluding suppression)
- United States v. Jones, 132 S. Ct. 945 (S. Ct. 2012) (GPS attachment as Fourth Amendment search; decision on reasonableness left unresolved in this context)