King v. State, 80-2027
| Decision Date | 26 February 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-2027,80-2027 |
| Parties | Noel Francis KING, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Jerry Hill, Public Defender, and William H. Pasch, Asst. Public Defender, Bartow, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Michael J. Kotler, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.
Noel Francis King asks us to hold that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress contraband seized pursuant to a search warrant, alleging the supporting affidavit did not specify when a confidential informant observed an illegal act which formed the basis for issuance of the warrant.
The supporting affidavit to the search warrant issued herein reads in pertinent part:
(Y)our affiant's reason for his belief is that within the last six days he met with a confidential and reliable informant who advised him that inside 118 Lake Avenue, Apt. A, Largo, Pinellas County, Florida, he observed one Diana King rolling handmade cigarettes filled with what he believed to be cannabis (marijuana). The cannabis (marijuana) was obtained from a wooden box approximately four inches deep and ten inches long. At the time of said informant's observation he saw what he believed to be fifteen to twenty marijuana cigarettes on the kitchen table.... (emphasis supplied)
Again we are faced with an effort on the part of law enforcement to protect the identity of informants who provide information utilized in affidavits in support of search warrants. Knowing that the accused will be furnished a copy of the search warrant and its supporting affidavit and being appropriately concerned about protecting their sources' identity, peace officers oft times attempt to be as vague as possible regarding their informant, yet meet the letter of the law in this area. In such attempts, the use of the phrase "within the last six days" or "within the last fifteen days" or similar other periods has come into vogue. The purpose being, hopefully, that the accused will not recall who did what, where and when within the stated period, thus limiting the chance that the informant's identity will be discovered.
The courts of this state have, sometimes, upheld and have on other occasions disapproved the use of the phrase "within the" such and such period. The courts approve its use if the information provides probable cause by indicating the informant made an actual purchase or other exchange or actually observed illegal acts within a certain stated period which is not remote to the date of application for the search warrant. State v. Schwarzbauer, 342 So.2d 1085 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977); State v. Bishop, 395 So.2d 238 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). However, where affidavits to search warrants indicate merely that the police and the informant met or conferred within a certain given period of time, without noting when the informant observed the illegal act, then the courts have disapproved search warrants generally on the theory that the affidavit fails to provide the issuing magistrate probable cause to believe...
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