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E.D.Cal.: SW for records was not stale because they were likely to be kept

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A two year lapse between two search warrants for documents being issued did not make it stale. There was reason to believe the records would still be around. United States v. Quy Le, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2243 (E.D. Cal. January 4, 2011): While the year-long period between the search of the 1640 High Street residence and the search at issue here is significant, it does not destroy probable cause. There is no reason to think that the kind of documentary evidence sought here would have been destroyed in that time period. See United States v. Greany, 929 F.2d 523, 525 (9th Cir. 1991) (“One may properly infer that equipment acquired to accomplish the crime and records of the criminal activity will be kept for some period of time. When the evidence sought is of an ongoing criminal business of a necessarily long-term nature, such as marijuana growing, rather than that of a completed act, greater lapses of time are permitted if the evidence in the affidavit shows the probable existence of the activity at an earlier time...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 13, 2011 (boomark / email).