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  • United States v. Swann, 4th Cir. (1996)

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    The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence found during a search. Kenneth Swann was convicted of drug possession based on evidence from a search warrant, but the district court found the warrant was invalid for lack of probable cause. The district court denied suppressing the evidence based on the good faith exception, but the appeals court ruled a more recent case prevented applying that exception when the affidavit was "bare bones" and the magistrate was merely a rubber stamp. The appeals court remanded the case based on the controlling authority.

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    Filed: 1996-11-27 Precedential Status: Non-Precedential Docket: 96-4017

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    The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence found during a search. Kenneth Swann was convicted of drug possession based on evidence from a search warrant, but the district court found the warrant was invalid for lack of probable cause. The district court denied suppressing the evidence based on the good faith exception, but the appeals court ruled a more recent case prevented applying that exception when the affidavit was "bare bones" and the magistrate was merely a rubber stamp. The appeals court remanded the case based on the controlling authority.

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    3 views2 pages

    United States v. Swann, 4th Cir. (1996)

    Uploaded by

    Scribd Government Docs
    The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence found during a search. Kenneth Swann was convicted of drug possession based on evidence from a search warrant, but the district court found the warrant was invalid for lack of probable cause. The district court denied suppressing the evidence based on the good faith exception, but the appeals court ruled a more recent case prevented applying that exception when the affidavit was "bare bones" and the magistrate was merely a rubber stamp. The appeals court remanded the case based on the controlling authority.

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    UNPUBLISHED

    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS


    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    v.

    No. 96-4017

    KENNETH A. SWANN,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Huntington.
    Robert J. Staker, Senior District Judge.
    (CR-95-61)
    Argued: September 27, 1996
    Decided: November 27, 1996
    Before MURNAGHAN, Circuit Judge, SMITH, United States
    District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by
    designation, and MICHAEL, Senior United States District Judge for
    the Western District of Virginia, sitting by designation.
    _________________________________________________________________
    Reversed and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    _________________________________________________________________
    COUNSEL
    ARGUED: Hunt Lee Charach, Federal Public Defender, Charleston,
    West Virginia, for Appellant. Margaret Agnes Hickey, Assistant
    United States Attorney, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee. ON
    BRIEF: C. Cooper Fulton, Assistant Federal Public Defender,
    Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellant. Rebecca A. Betts, United
    States Attorney, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee.

    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See


    Local Rule 36(c).
    _________________________________________________________________
    OPINION
    PER CURIAM:
    Kenneth Swann was convicted of possessing with intent to distribute a quantity of marijuana. He claimed a search warrant which produced evidence against him was invalid, not being based on probable
    cause. The district judge agreed that the warrant was invalid but
    would not suppress the evidence discovered by the police, relying on
    the good faith exception of United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897
    (1984). However, the case on which he relied, United States v.
    Edwards, 798 F.2d 686 (4th Cir. 1986), has been followed to the contrary effect by a later and even more related one, United States v.
    Wilhelm, 80 F.3d 116 (4th Cir. 1996), which denied application of the
    Leon exception because of the bare bones nature of the affidavit and
    because the state magistrate issuing the warrant could not have acted
    as other than a rubber stamp in approving such an affidavit. Id. at 122.
    The later and more relevant authority controls so we conclude that
    the decision of the district court denying suppression should be
    reversed, and the case remanded for further proceeding.
    REVERSED AND REMANDED
    2

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