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CA2: Child porn warrant failed to show probable cause it would be found in defendant's house, but the GFE saved it

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Child pornography search warrant for defendant's premises failed to show probable cause under Second Circuit precedent. Absent any allegation that Falso accessed the cpfreedom.com website, and with little or no weight attaching to his prior conviction, the question remains whether other allegations in the affidavit, considered as a whole, support a finding of probable cause. Generalized allegations about: (1) the propensity of collectors of child pornography to intentionally maintain illegal images; (2) law enforcement's ability to retrieve such images from a computer; and (3) the ability to view child pornography on the cpfreedom.com website, fail to establish the requisite nexus of illegal activity to Falso. Although Falso might hoard images of child pornography if he viewed and downloaded them, there is no allegation in the affidavit that he was in a position, or was otherwise inclined, to do so...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 29, 2008 (boomark / email).