Search & Seizure – Motion to Quash & Motion to Suppress

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Criminal

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and BAUER and EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judges

Search & Seizure – Motion to Quash & Motion to Suppress

No.14-3409 United States of America v. Ottriez Sands

Information provide from confidential sufficient to establish probable cause under collective knowledge doctrine.

“Here, the collective knowledge doctrine applies. First, Officer Kilroy “act[ed] in objective reliance” on the information received from Officer Williams that Sands had engaged in a hand-to-hand narcotics transaction. Officer Kilroy’s subjective thoughts or motivations are of no consequence in determining “objective reliance.” Id. at 254–55. Once Officer Kilroy received the information from Officer Williams, Officer Kilroy acted by parking the enforcement vehicle in front of Sands’s Camry, ordering Sands out of the vehicle, and when Sands did not comply, getting Sands out of the vehicle and arresting him. There is no evidence that Officer Kilroy did not rely on the information received from Officer Williams. Second, as discussed above, Officer Williams, “the officer providing the information,” had probable cause to arrest Sands based on his corroboration of the informant’s information and his witnessing an illegal narcotics transaction. Third, because the arrest was supported by probable cause, Officer Kilroy’s arrest of Sands was “no more intrusive” than had Officer Williams effected an arrest of Sands. The scenario at issue here is not that Officer Williams had only reasonable suspicion for a Terry stop, but Officer Kilroy effected an arrest. Rather, probable cause supported an arrest. Ultimately, because Officer Williams had probable cause to arrest Sands, Officer Kilroy had probable cause to arrest Sands.”

Affirmed.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.