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CA2: Entry before the search warrant was signed did not void the search; inevitable discovery applied

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The police were waiting for a search warrant to issue in a child pornography case, but they entered before it was signed. Images were seen on the screen. The seizure had an independent source from the warrantless entry, and the affidavit for the search warrant showed probable cause without the judge abandoning his judicial role. The failure to tell the magistrate about the unwarranted entry “may be criticized generally, but it did not mislead the issuing judge as to the content of the materials at issue. Thus, even if we were to conclude that probable cause requires a more particularized showing of lewdness than was made here, the police's failure to reveal information not relevant to that issue does not preclude application of the good-faith exception...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 25, 2010 (boomark / email).