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D. Kan.: Probable cause alone is not enough for inevitable discovery

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Probable cause alone is not enough for inevitable discovery. United States v. Troxel, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47540 (D. Kan. June 17, 2008): Based on a balancing of these factors, the court finds that it does not have "a high level of confidence that the warrant in fact would have issued." See Souza, 223 F.3d at 1205. It appears that the Government relies on the fact that at the time the search of the cooler occurred, the officers had probable cause. In light of the Tenth Circuit's strict standard for inevitable discovery in this context, however, this is not enough. See United States v. Moore, 37 Fed. Appx. 963, 2002 WL 1335594 (10th Cir. Jun. 19, 2002) (discussing that Souza and other cases emphasize that "probable cause alone will not excuse the absence of a warrant otherwise required" in cases in which "obtaining a warrant was the only way the police could have legally opened the package"); see also United States v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 23, 2008 (boomark / email).