Fourth Amendment-Probable Cause

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Paul Osterman

Case No.: 22-2773

Officials: Ripple, Scudder, Jackson-Akiwumi, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Fourth Amendment-Probable Cause

Osterman faced prosecution for sex trafficking a child after a detective in Oneida County, Wisconsin, secured a warrant to install a GPS tracker on his truck. This warrant was based on an affidavit containing erroneous information. Osterman contended that these inaccuracies undermined the establishment of probable cause and sought to suppress the evidence from the GPS tracking.

The Eastern District of Wisconsin conducted an evidentiary hearing and determined that, despite the inaccuracies, the affidavit did establish probable cause. The court denied Osterman’s motion to suppress.

The 7th Circuit acknowledged that the detective acted recklessly by failing to correct the affidavit. However, upon independent review, the court found that the affidavit still established probable cause even with the inaccuracies. Consequently, the court upheld the district court’s decision to deny the motion to suppress.

Affirmed.

Decided 10/23/24

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