Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Fourth Amendment

Criminal Law

: Fourth Amendment

While consent was coerced, police had probable cause and would have otherwise gotten a search warrant and had started the process

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

While consent in this case was invalid and coerced, the state proved that inevitable discovery should apply because they had probable cause and, just as important, they were in the process of getting a search warrant. McDonnell v. State, 2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 8134 (Fla. App. 1 Dist. May 12, 2008): Thus, federal law suggests that the inevitable discovery doctrine will not be applied in every case where the police had probable cause for a search warrant, but failed to get one. The cases focus on whether the police made an effort to get a warrant prior to the illegal search and whether strong probable cause existed for the search warrant. The trial court specifically found, based on competent, substantial evidence in the record, that Investigator Mathis was in the process of obtaining a warrant when Christopher consented to the search...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 07, 2008 (boomark / email).