United States v. White
2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 18149
| 1st Cir. | 2015Background
- Confidential informant (CI) told MDEA Special Agent Seth Page that Adam White was a large-scale cocaine distributor who sold from his car; CI had purchased from White multiple times and gave White's home address.
- Page corroborated the tip: two controlled buys occurred inside White's vehicle (Aug and Dec 2012), and the vehicle seen in the second buy matched White's black Cadillac.
- On Feb 12, 2013 the CI placed a recorded call ordering an ounce; agents observed White leave his home ~10 minutes later in the Cadillac. Officers followed; a Portland Police officer stopped White for speeding in a school zone (pretext).
- Trooper Fillebrown brought his drug dog Aros, falsely told White the dog was in training, and ran multiple passes; on the fourth pass Aros alerted. A search of White found small baggies on his person; vehicle search uncovered ~1 lb of cocaine and a gun; later a warrant search of White’s home recovered ~3,300 grams of cocaine and additional evidence.
- White moved to compel discovery of Aros’s prior field-performance records and to suppress evidence, arguing the dog alert was unreliable and the stop/search unconstitutional. The district court denied discovery and suppression; White pleaded guilty conditionally and appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of vehicle search under automobile exception | Gov: CI tips + two controlled buys + recorded call + agents’ surveillance gave probable cause to search vehicle | White: canine alert unreliable; stop pretextual and lacked independent probable cause | Court: Probable cause to search existed independent of the dog alert; automobile exception justified search — suppression denied |
| Admissibility/discovery of canine-field-performance records | Gov: Aros’s prior field-search records risk exposing sensitive investigations and aren’t required | White: Prior performance records and related training are material to challenge dog reliability and probable cause | Court: Declined to reach in light of independent probable cause; district court had denied discovery and appellate court left that ruling unaddressed |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Silva, 742 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2014) (automobile-exception probable cause standard)
- Florida v. White, 526 U.S. 559 (1999) (probable cause and automobile exception principles)
- Florida v. Harris, 133 S. Ct. 1050 (2013) (canine-sniff probable cause standard)
- Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983) (totality-of-the-circumstances informant reliability test)
- Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366 (2003) (probable cause definition)
- United States v. Polanco, 634 F.3d 39 (1st Cir. 2011) (scope of vehicle search when probable cause exists)
- United States v. Tiem Trinh, 665 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2011) (factors for assessing informant reliability)