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reliable because he based them on his came from at least four reliable sources, spanned
observation of [a] fellow officer[] participating in several months, and told a consistent story. The
the same investigation. Malishs information district court gave appropriate deference to the
was particularly detailed, which can also state district courts determination and correctly
establish the tip was reliable. concluded that the state district court had a
substantial basis for issuing the search warrant.
Furthermore, an officer could reasonably infer that
Malishs numerous investigative techniques Because the good-faith exception applies or
were a reliable source for her information. alternatively because there was a substantial basis
for issuing the warrant, the district court did not
Huerra has identified nothing that undermines the err in denying Huerras motion to supress.
affidavits reliability.
(The Court goes on to discuss Huerras claims of
The fact that a magistrate issued the search
warrant coupled with the apparent reliability of error during jury selection and in application of
the sentencing guidelines. The Court also rejects
the supporting affidavit shows that a reasonable
officer could have relied on this warrant in good these claims by Huerra.)
faith. The good-faith exception applies, and the
For these reasons, we AFFIRM the judgment of
district court correctly denied Huerras motion to
the district court.
supress.
Even if the good-faith exception did not apply, the th th
U.S. v. Huerra, 5 Cir. No. 16-11783, Feb. 27 ,
affidavit gave the Texas district court a substantial
2018.
basis for concluding that there was probable cause
to search Huerras home. ****************************************
Probable cause exists if there is a fair probability *************************************
that contraband or evidence of a crime will be
found in a particular place, considering all the
circumstances set forth in the affidavit. Mindful
SEARCH & SEIZURE, REASONABLE
that the Fourth Amendments requirements are
SUSPICION FOR FRISK, LENGTH OF
practical and not abstract, a warrants supporting
DETENTION.
affidavit must be tested and interpreted by
magistrates and courts in a commonsense and (ed. note: This is a lengthy case report but a
realistic fashion. good discussion of these principles and the factors
that go into them.)
The [t]echnical requirements of elaborate
specificity once exacted under common law Appellant, Ernesto Lerma, was charged with
pleadings have no proper place in this area. possession of four grams or more, but less than
Accordingly, we must give great deference to 200 grams, of cocaine. After the trial court denied
the state district courts determination that Appellants motion to suppress the cocaine, he
probable cause existed. pleaded guilty. The court of appeals reversed,
holding that the officer s frisk of Appellant, made
Officers had a fair probability of finding
during an unjustifiably prolonged traffic stop, was
contraband or evidence of a crime at Huerras
not supported by reasonable suspicion. We
home. As discussed above, the affidavit provided
disagree. We hold that the initial frisk was
ample evidence that Huerra was distributing
supported by reasonable suspicion and the original
methamphetamine from his home. That evidence
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