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Motion to Suppress Evidence Denied

By: Derek Hawkins//December 3, 2018//

Motion to Suppress Evidence Denied

By: Derek Hawkins//December 3, 2018//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Edmund J. Brixen

Case No.: 18-1636

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

Focus: Motion to Suppress Evidence Denied

An individual with the Snapchat username “Snappyschrader” held himself out to be a thirty one-year-old male and agreed to assist a 14-year-old female in purchasing undergarments. Unbeknownst to him, he was communicating with Detective Baumgarten of the City of Altoona Police Department. After agreeing to meet at a supermarket, law enforcement officers identified “Snappyschrader,” arrested him, and seized his phone. The man they arrested was Edmund Brixen. To illustrate to Brixen that he had been communicating with an undercover detective, Baumgarten sent a message to Brixen’s phone from the undercover Snapchat account and Brixen witnessed the notification appear on his phone screen. Brixen moved to suppress this evidence arguing it constituted an unreasonable search of his cell phone. The district court denied the motion on the grounds that Detective Baumgarten’s actions did not constitute a search under the Fourth Amendment. Brixen timely appealed. For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm.

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.

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