The 7th Circuit approves retroactive search warrants.

[Jason]

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I see.

 

I really have no idea what else to say.

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

Clearly these people deserve a job for life

[Guest]

The opinion is an interesting read. The situation hinges on whether or not the search warrant would have been attainable without the officers having already seen the meth during the illegal search.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

7 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

The opinion is an interesting read. The situation hinges on whether or not the search warrant would have been attainable without the officers having already seen the meth during the illegal search.

I assume that refers to the "other evidence" that constituted sufficient probable cause?

[SuperSpreader]

Letitburn.gif

[Guest]

1 hour ago, SFLUFAN said:

I assume that refers to the "other evidence" that constituted sufficient probable cause?

Yes. The judge who granted the search warrant had enough evidence besides the note about the 10 saran wrapped containers of meth to establish probable cause for the warrant.

 

The really interesting part was one of the police officers claimed in court that they wouldn’t have applied for the search warrant were they note to have seen the drugs, but other government evidence disagreed with that claim and so the judges basically decided that the cop didn’t know what he was talking about when he said that.

[Chairslinger]

This seems to me a perfect example of how the criminal justice system has gotten so bad in this country.

 

It's one area where there really is a pretty common slippery slope. The cases are full of unsympathetic defendants, which makes for bad facts, and the courts make at least plausibly reasonable rulings like this that will go on to be used to justify all sorts of crazy shit long after the particulars of this one case have been forgotten.

[RedSoxFan9]

the drug war has repealed the 4th amendment 

[TwinIon]

So, they had a snitch, and planned a sting operation. The deal went down, and then they searched the house and found the drugs.

 

I don't know much about the mechanics of getting a warrant, but it certainly seems like if you're going through the trouble of setting up a sting operation, you can be bothered to get a warrant.

[Greatoneshere]

11 hours ago, Chairslinger said:

This seems to me a perfect example of how the criminal justice system has gotten so bad in this country.

 

It's one area where there really is a pretty common slippery slope. The cases are full of unsympathetic defendants, which makes for bad facts, and the courts make at least plausibly reasonable rulings like this that will go on to be used to justify all sorts of crazy shit long after the particulars of this one case have been forgotten.

 

Welcome to the law. This is why I quit, in great part. Dishonest, two-faced court rulings by anachronistic legislation. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, TwinIon said:

So, they had a snitch, and planned a sting operation. The deal went down, and then they searched the house and found the drugs.

 

I don't know much about the mechanics of getting a warrant, but it certainly seems like if you're going through the trouble of setting up a sting operation, you can be bothered to get a warrant.

 

Which is why the question of whether there was probable cause for the warrant independent of the specific claim of the drugs being plainly visible is key.

 

The court noted that the exclusionary rules aren’t meant to punish the state, but to put them back in the position they would have been in if they hadn’t committed the illegal search.