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GA: Defendant's knowledge police were tipped off to defendant's possession of child porn was exigency to seize computer

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Police were called to a domestic dispute, and one partner revealed that their fight was about the other viewing child pornography. Defendant was asked about the child porn, and he asked what was considered child porn. The police were justified in seizing the computer pending getting a search warrant for it because defendant knew they were looking for child porn. Hesrick v. State, 2011 Ga. App. LEXIS 189 (March 10, 2011): Viewing the evidence presented from the perspective of the officers at the time they were confronted with this rapidly developing situation, we find no error with the trial court’s conclusion that the warrantless seizure of the computers was authorized by exigent circumstances, specifically, the objectively reasonable concern that the seizure was necessary to prevent Hesrick’s imminent destruction of the computer images of child pornography, images that were vulnerable to quick destruction, irreplaceable, and essential to proving that a crime had been committed...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 14, 2011 (boomark / email).