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NE: Warrant for grass clippings was mooted by open fields and plain view

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A warrant for grass clippings was essentially a moot point since it was possible to seize the grass and data about it under open fields or the plain view doctrine. State v. Meduna, 18 Neb. App. 792, 2011 Neb. App. LEXIS 2 (January 4, 2011) (opinion withdrawn per court’s website): Initially, Meduna alleges that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence illegally seized by Cook, the State’s rangeland management specialist. He argues that although Cook’s duty was to seize grass clippings as specified in the warrant, Cook decided to change course and attempted to determine the amount of cover on the land and the amount of utilization of the grasses. Meduna claims that this “data gathering” by Cook “far exceeded the scope of the warrant” and that, consequently, Meduna’s right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures was violated...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 08, 2011 (boomark / email).