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Magistrate-lawyer with conflict of interest as to target of search not "neutral and detached"

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The Iowa Supreme Court holds that a magistrate-lawyer with a conflict of interest in issuing a search warrant for an adverse party in a private case was not a "neutral and detached magistrate" under the Fourth Amendment. State v. Fremont, 2008 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 62 (May 2, 2008). The court discussed the due process cases from SCOTUS and the Canons of Judicial Ethics, too: D. Application of Fourth Amendment Principles. In light of the above, we must now consider whether the facts of this case establish a Fourth Amendment violation. The magistrate in this case was simultaneously representing the putative father against one of the targets of the search in a child custody proceeding. A successful search of the home, which sought to find evidence of drug offenses, could make the position of the mother more difficult in the child custody matter and advance the position of the father...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 06, 2008 (boomark / email).