09-3966 Parkey v. Sample

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Civil Rights
Search and seizure; probable cause

Where a police officer found marijuana stems in the plaintiff’s garbage, and the plaintiff had received shipments from a supplier of marijuana cultivation products, the officer did not violate the plaintiff’s constitutional rights in getting a search warrant for the plaintiff’s home.
“Sample’s affidavit included information about his training and experience. It also included assertions that he received a tip from the DEA that Parkey had received shipments from a supplier of marijuana cultivation products and assertions that Sample found remnants of marijuana cigarettes and plant stems that field tested positive for marijuana in Parkey’s trash, together with discarded mail addressed to Parkey. Parkey does not contest these assertions, and these assertions alone are sufficient to establish probable cause. See Molina, 325 F.3d at 968-71 (holding that informant testimony and items that field tested positive for cocaine were sufficient to establish probable cause, even though other (unreliable) testimony cited in support of the warrant was ‘totally disregarded’). Because the record shows no issue of material fact regarding the existence of probable cause, we do not consider whether Sample would be entitled to qualified immunity.”

Affirmed.

09-3966 Parkey v. Sample

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Lee, J., Kanne, J.

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