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The press showed up during the search and were permitted limited access, but that is no ground to suppress

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The police were executing a search warrant for stolen property, and it turned out to be a massive enterprise, and the press got word of it and showed up and camped out in the front yard, on the curtilage but in a public area. Some were permitted more access. While this is contrary to Wilson v. Layne, it does not rise to the level of a serious enough violation to warrant exclusion of any of the evidence. United States v. Duenas, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95721 (D. Guam December 21, 2007): However, there was testimony that Guam Police Officer Scott Wade escorted certain media members beyond the front yard. In those instances, where members of the media were escorted beyond the front yard, the question facing the court is whether the evidence should be suppressed on this basis...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 16, 2008 (boomark / email).