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Giving affidavit a commonsense reading, there was PC

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Probable cause was shown for a search of defendant's office on Robins Air Force base for evidence of a bribery scheme. Defendant's reading of the affidavit was hypertechnical and contrary to Ventresca, and the affidavit as a whole showed probable cause. United States v. Deason, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28410 (M.D. Ga. April 8, 2008)*: Therefore, where the "circumstances are detailed, where reason for crediting the source of the information is given, and when a magistrate has found probable cause, the courts should not invalidate the warrant by interpreting the affidavit in a hypertechnical, rather than a commonsense, manner." Id. In cases where the affidavit presents only doubtful or marginal probable cause, "the resolution ... should be largely determined by the preference to be accorded to warrants...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 10, 2008 (boomark / email).