McNeely v. State
| Decision Date | 14 March 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 96-1103,96-1103 |
| Parties | 22 Fla. L. Weekly D669 Robert Edwin McNEELY, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, David A. Davis, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Jean-Jacques A. Darius, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
The defendant, Robert Edwin McNeely, appeals an order placing him on probation for the crime of manufacturing cannabis. The sole argument for reversal is that the trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion to suppress the marijuana plants that were the subject of the charge. We conclude that the reliability of the confidential informant who provided the information against the defendant was not sufficiently verified in the affidavit supporting the warrant to search the defendant's residence. Therefore, we reverse.
Captain Ronald Lee of the Washington County Sheriff's Department signed the affidavit supporting the search warrant. According to the affidavit, a confidential informant told Sheriff Frank McKeithen that he had seen marijuana plants at the defendant's residence between June 1, 1995 and June 28, 1995. Sheriff McKeithen advised Captain Lee that the informant knew about marijuana and had provided reliable information about marijuana offenses in the past. Captain Lee then spoke directly with the informant and obtained more detail about the characteristics of the marijuana plants. The informant gave Captain Lee directions to the defendant's house and described it as a house built off the ground on stilts, enclosed by a fence with a gate, and protected by bad dogs as indicated by a sign in front. Captain Lee drove out to the house and verified this information regarding its location and description.
A county judge signed the search warrant based on Captain Lee's affidavit and the ensuing search of the defendant's residence resulted in the seizure of marijuana plants. The state then charged the defendant with manufacturing cannabis in violation of section 893.13(1)(a), Florida Statutes. The defendant challenged Captain Lee's affidavit in a motion to suppress but the trial court ruled that the affidavit was sufficient and denied the motion. At that time, the defendant entered a plea of nolo contendere reserving his right to appeal the trial court's ruling on the search and seizure issue. The court accepted the plea and entered an order withholding adjudication of guilt and placing the defendant on probation for three years. This appeal followed.
Whether a search warrant is supported by probable cause is an issue that is determined and reviewed in the totality of the circumstances of a given case. As the Supreme Court explained in Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983), the task of the magistrate is simply to make a practical and common-sense decision whether the facts give rise to a fair probability that contraband evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. If the search is challenged, the duty of the trial court is to determine whether the magistrate had a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed. Id. 462 U.S. at 235, 103 S.Ct. at 2330-31.
Hearsay information provided by a confidential informant is sufficient to support an affidavit for a search warrant but only if the reliability of the informant has been verified or corroborated by facts contained in the affidavit. Smith v. State, 637 So.2d 351 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994); St. Angelo v. State, ...
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...source which corroborate the reliability of the confidential informant." Peterson, 706 So.2d at 938 (citing McNeely v. State, 690 So.2d 1337, 1339 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997); Smith v. State, 637 So.2d 351, 352-353 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994); and St. Angelo v. State, 532 So.2d 1346, 1347 (Fla. 1st DCA 198......
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Dyess v. State, 1D07-1465.
...task is to make a common sense and practical decision regarding whether the known facts establish probable cause. McNeely v. State, 690 So.2d 1337, 1338 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). The magistrate's initial determination that probable cause to issue a search warrant exists is entitled to great defe......
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...probable cause is an issue that is determined and reviewed in the totality of the circumstances in a given case." McNeely v. State, 690 So.2d 1337, 1338 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). "[A] magistrate's determination to issue a warrant should be upheld where `the pieces fit neatly together' to support......