Abuse of Discretion – Failure to Hold Evidentiary Hearing

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Aaron Schreiber

Case No.: 16-3847

Officials: BAUER, EASTERBROOK, and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Abuse of Discretion – Failure to Hold Evidentiary Hearing

In April 2011, the police arrested Aaron Schreiber for robbing a liquor store in Summit, Illinois. After a state grand jury indicted him for the liquor store robbery, a DNA buccal swab was taken from Mr. Schreiber. That DNA sample later linked him to a 2010 bank robbery, and federal authorities then charged him with that crime. Prior to his federal bank robbery trial, Mr. Schreiber moved to suppress the DNA evidence. He contended that the state authorities had lacked probable cause to arrest him for the 2011 liquor store robbery and that the buccal swab was the fruit of that illegal arrest. The district court denied the motion to exclude the evidence, and Mr. Schreiber was convicted of bank robbery.

Mr. Schreiber now appeals that conviction and argues that the district court erred in admitting the DNA evidence and, at the very least, erred in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on his motion to suppress. We now conclude that the district court correctly held that police may take a buccal swab after an arrest supported by probable cause and that a grand jury’s issuance of an indictment is conclusive on the question of probable cause. Moreover, because Mr. Schreiber did not come forward with any disputed material facts, the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to conduct an evidentiary hearing.

Affirmed

Full Text

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.