Page 48 - TPA Jourtnal September October 2023
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relying on the record.                               produces such errors.

        Here, the officers relied on their computer records  In sum, there is nothing in the record that would
        that listed Walker’s warrants. They did not have the  show that Foster’s and Polk’s reliance on the
        complaints underlying the warrants or other          computer records was not objectively reasonable.
        information that might have revealed possible        The district court did not err in applying the good
        invalidity. Like the  Evans  officer, Foster and Polk  faith exception, and the officers were justified in
        were only aware that warrants existed                their reliance on the traffic warrants as a basis for
        in Walker’s name. Indeed, Walker’s counsel stated    arrest.
        in his argument at the suppression hearing and in
        his brief on appeal that even if the City of Houston  Having determined that Walker’s traffic stop and
        might be aware that the warrants are deficient, the  arrest were both justified, we consider whether
        police officers themselves are not.  Without         there was any impropriety in the discovery of the
        “deliberate, reckless, or grossly negligent” conduct  firearm and cell phone during the traffic stop.
        on the part of the police, excluding evidence has    Walker argues that even if his arrest were based on
        little, if any, deterrent value and is therefore     probable cause and his traffic stop justified, the
        unjustified.                                         evidence discovered should be excluded because
                                                             Walker’s statements to the officers informing them
        Walker argues that even if the police officers did   of the gun’s location were made before Miranda
        not engage in deliberate or negligent conduct to     warnings were given. Miranda requires an officer
        invalidate the warrant, the good faith exception     to advise suspects of various rights before
        should not apply based on the reason for the errors.  proceeding with custodial interrogation.     A
        Specifically, he alleges the City of Houston has     custodial interrogation occurs when “a reasonable
        adopted an unconstitutional policy that allows fill-  person in the position of the suspect would
        in-the-blank form complaints devoid of probable      understand the situation to constitute a restraint on
        cause to serve as the basis for arrest warrants. He  freedom of movement to the degree that the law
        contends the City of Houston issued tens of          associates with formal arrest.”
        thousands of deficient warrants just in 2020. The
        Supreme Court has left the door open for such        We set aside the issue of whether Walker was in
        arguments, he claims, by concluding that when        custody when he answered questions and instead
        “police have been shown to be reckless in            focus on whether it was inevitable that the officers
        maintaining a warrant system, or to have knowingly   would have discovered the firearm and cell phone.
        made false entries to lay the groundwork for future  The inevitable discovery doctrine is a limit on the
        false arrests, exclusion would certainly be          Fourth    Amendment’s      exclusionary    rule.
        justified.”  The Court acknowledged that if          It provides that “otherwise suppressible evidence
        “systemic errors were demonstrated, it might be      [will be admitted] if that evidence would
        reckless for officers to rely on an unreliable warrant  inevitably have been discovered by lawful means.”
        system.” The Court found no evidence in Herring      It applies if “the Government demonstrates by a
        of such systemic errors.                             preponderance of the evidence that (1) there is a
                                                             reasonable probability that the contested evidence
        Walker argues that part of the egregiousness of the  would have been discovered by lawful means in
        City of Houston’s allegedly unconstitutional system  the absence of police misconduct and (2) that the
        is that the City is “keeping police officers in the  Government was actively pursuing a substantial
        dark about the invalidity of the Houston municipal   alternate line of investigation at the time of the
        court warrants.”  A warrant system that produces     constitutional violation.”
        routine or widespread errors raises serious
        constitutional questions.    Here, there is no       Here, the officers were required to conduct an
        evidence in the record that the City of Houston’s    inventory search of Walker’s vehicle once he was
        warrant system regularly, i.e., systemically,        arrested.  As we indicated above, the arrest was
                                                             valid. Once the vehicle was properly seized, an



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