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N.D.Iowa: There is no Fourth Amendment requirement for actual recording of PC showing

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

There is no Fourth Amendment requirement that the statement from the officer in support of a search warrant be actually recorded. Rule 41(d)(2) requires a court reporter or “suitable recording device,” but the Fourth Amendment does mention how. And, this was a state court warrant. Here, the officers testified consistently concerning what was given the issuing judge. Also, the record showed who the source of information was and the issuing magistrate could credit it. There was also good faith reliance on the warrant by the officers, and it was not so “facially deficient” that it could not be relied upon. United States v. Patten, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130730 (N.D. Iowa December 9, 2010).* [Query: How was recording done in 1789? Does common availability of recording by affidavit or actual recording change this? Was there a court reporter available at that time?] The video of the stop showed that defendant’s consent was valid, and that he was freely moving around the scene of the stop...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on December 13, 2010 (boomark / email).