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CA10: One officer's mistake not insulated under Leon and Evans

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Good faith exception could not be applied to the officer's good faith belief that the drug dog was well trained without proof that the dog was. Also, one officer's mistake applies to all of them, and an officer cannot rely on the mistakes of another to invoke the good faith exception [not to mention it was a warrantless search and why should Leon apply to a warrantless search?]. United States v. Clarkson, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 37 (10th Cir. January 6, 2009): In declining to extend the Leon good-faith exception to mistakes made by law enforcement personnel, this court has relied on the Leon Court's statement that the purpose of the exclusionary rule is to deter police misconduct. Herrera, 444 F.3d at 1249-51. That "[t]he Supreme Court has never extended Leon's good-faith exception beyond circumstances where an officer has relied in good faith on a mistake made by someone other than the police" provides additional support for this court's continued reliance on the Leon Court's stated purpose of the exclusionary rule and continued refusal to extend the good-faith exception to mistakes by law enforcement...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 08, 2009 (boomark / email).