Posted on 11/27/2006 4:15:07 PM PST by FreedomCalls
"We have become nothing but serfs."
You nailed it.
The warrant has been posted:
http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/ajc/pdf/searchwarrant.pdf
It's apparent to me that the officer who swore the affirmation that the information on crack being sold from this woman's house didn't meet the "totality of circumstances" test. An otherwise "reliable" informant states he bought crack from a fellow named "Jim" at the address. NO OTHER SUPPORTING EVIDENCE...no evidence of lots of traffic...no observation that a man was in the building...no information on WHO was in the building. Nothing but a crackhead saying he bought crack there.
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983). FACTS: Illinois Police Department received an anonymous letter containing the following statements: that the wife would drive her car to Florida on May 3 to be loaded with drugs; that Gates would fly to Florida and drive the car back to Illinois; that the trunk would be loaded with drugs. Acting on the tip, a police officer obtained Gates’ address and learned that he had made reservations to fly to Florida. Arrangements for surveillance of the flight were made with the DEA. The surveillance disclosed that Gates took the flight, stayed overnight in a hotel room registered in his wife’s name, and left the following morning with a woman in a car bearing the Illinois license plate. A search warrant for Gates’ home and automobile was obtained setting forth the foregoing facts and a copy of the anonymous letter. When Gates arrived at his home, the police were waiting. A search of the house and car revealed marijuana. Gates was charged with violating state drug laws and was convicted. ISSUE: Did the affidavit and the anonymous letter provide sufficient facts to establish probable cause for the issuance of a warrant? YES DECISION: The conviction is affirmed, and the case sent back for further proceedings. PRINCIPLE OF LAW: The two-pronged test established under Aguilar ad Spinelli is abandoned in favor of a “totality of circumstances” approach. The task of an issuing magistrate is to make a practical decision whether, given all the circumstances, there is a fair probability that the evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. Unlike a totality of circumstances analysis, which permits a balanced assessment of the relative weight of all the various indicia of reliability and unreliability attending an informant’s tip, the two pronged test has encouraged an excessively technical dissection of informant’s tips. SIGNIFICANCE: The two pronged test for establishing probable cause in which information is given by an informant is now replaced with the totality of circumstances test, making it easier for police officers to establish probable cause for the issuance of a warrant. Under the two pronged test as enunciated in Aguilar v. Texas, probable cause based on information obtained from an informant could be established only if the following were present: a. reliability of the informant, and b. reliability of informant’s information. Both conditions must have been satisfied before probable cause could be established. In contrast, under the totality of circumstances test, probable cause may be established if, based on all the circumstances, including hearsay, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of crime will be found in a particular place. The Gates case still preserves the two-pronged test established in Aguilar, but it does not treat the two aspects separately and independently. Instead, the totality of circumstances approach is used, meaning that whatever deficiencies there may be in one prong can be supplemented or overcome by the other, together with other available evidence.
Yes. -- If only our great leaders knew.
I'm naming my next handgun after her.
The issue now is whether the information provided by the officer is true...something the informant says was not.
This won't help the city of Atlanta, or the County, when the family seeks redress in civil court...but it could spare some officers from criminal charges.
Too bad.
We've been sitting here all these years all fat, dumb, and happy knowing that the military MAY ignore orders to take up arms against our citizens.
Apparently, the paramilitary have no such compunction.
The basis for the issuance of the warrant.
"If you're happy and you know it clank your chains..."
Some of us have been pointing this out to the rest of you for years. Y'all keep calling us names...
Or as I stated earlier this year...
Any frog jumping out of the pot early will be rediculed by all the other frogs staying in the nice warm water. If you land in the fire instead, they will laugh at you and point out how it was much better to stay in the pot like a good little froggie. After all, it ain't boiling yet is it? - Me. July, 2006
A "no-knock" search for crack based on the fact that an officer "swore" he followed current precedent for reasonable cause, without any other evidence to substantiate the contention...is a flimsy application of Gates. At a minimum, the second officer should have been required to affirm the information about the .
Additionally, no effort was made to determine whether the supposed perp was a resident at the address...or a one-time visitor. No effort to determine whether there were children...or the old/infirm in the residence.
Clearly this is the action of an overzealous narc squad acting with impunity and it resulted in the death of someone who APPEARS innocent.
That's it?
$50 in "City Funds"?
Just kill me now.
It's this officers word that resulted in the shooting death of an 88yrs old grandma and the wounding of three officers. Prudence would dictate a second source of probable cause for a no-knock search for small quantities of crack.
Of course, none of that experential observation was DOCUMENTED.
And those who own firearms.
I'm skeptical that this 88 y.o. hit 3 targets with 5 out of 6 shots from a pistol - especially under the circumstances. I'm not an expert in these things, but that would seem incredibly accurate even for someone well trained.
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