State v. Chapman
| Decision Date | 05 February 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 7427SC902,7427SC902 |
| Citation | 211 S.E.2d 489,24 N.C.App. 462 |
| Parties | STATE of North Carolina v. Johnny Lee CHAPMAN. |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
Levine & Goodman by Arthur Goodman, Jr., Charlotte, for defendant-appellant.
The defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized at the defendant's house. The motion was made on the grounds that the search warrant was invalid because the affidavit upon which it was based was insufficient to enable a magistrate to make an independent determination of probable cause, and that, therefore, the search warrant was issued in contravention of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
The affidavit of which the defendant complains and on which the search warrant was issued is as follows:
'AFFIDAVIT TO OBTAIN A SEARCH WARRANT
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
County of Cleveland
STATE
v.
Holly Oak Park section
Cleveland County N.C.
Harold E. Smith, Captain, Shelby Police Department being duly sworn and examined under oath, says under oath that he has probable cause to believe that Johnny Lee Chapman has on his premises certain property, to wit: Narcotics, Heroin, a controlled substance, the possession of which is a crime, to wit: G.S. 90--95(a)(3) on October 3, 1973 on his premises.
The properly described above is located on the premises described as follows: A block residence with a brick front facing in a westerly direction. This residence is located between the intersections of Rural paved road 1224 and rural paved road 1287 and rural paved road 1224 and rural paved road 1241. This structure will be the first house on the left after passing the intersection of rural paved road 1224 and rural paved road 1287. This structure is on rural paved road 1224 facing a westerly direction. Cause for the issuance of a search warrant are as follows: The facts which establish probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant are as follows: A confidential source of information that affiant believes to be reliable stated to affiant on this date that this confidential source of information observed a white powder substance at the residence of Johnny Lee Chapman that is believed to be Heroin. This confidential source of information who affiant believes to be reliable further stated that Johnny Lee Chapman stated to this confidential source of information that Johnny Lee Chapman stated that this white powder was in fact Heroin. The above information was obtained by this confidential source of information who affiant believes to be reliable within the two days prior to the issuance of this search warrant. This confidential source of information who affiant believes to be reliable stated that this Heroin was contained in a ladies stocking hanging on a coat hanger under the bar located in the basement of the residence. This confidential source of information who affiant believes to be reliable further stated that this confidential source of information observed needles located above the light fixtures over the pool table located in the basement of the residence. This confidential source of information further stated that this confidential source of information has personally observed Johnny Lee Chapman cut this Heroin with sugar, this sugar being located at the bar in the basement of the residence. This confidential source of information further stated to affiant that this heroin cut with sugar was cut on the glass portion of a picture frame containing the pictures of two children and the glass of this picture frame is broken across the front. This confidential source of information who affiant believes to be reliable further stated that on this date a person approached this confidential source of information on this date and stated to this confidential source of information that they had just purchased $10.00 worth of heroin at the residence of Johnny Lee Chapman on this date. Detective Paul Barbee of the Cleveland County Sheriff's Department further stated under oath before the magistrate that he has received information in the past that Johnny Lee Chapman has sold heroin in Cleveland County. Also James C. Woodard, Special Agent for the State Bureau of Investigation stated under oath before the magistrate that he has received information in the past that Johnny Lee Chapman has sold Heroin in Cleveland County.
Affiant'
In support of his claim that the search warrant used by the officers was invalid, the defendant relies principally upon the case of Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964). In that case, Aguilar's conviction was reversed because certain requirements laid down by the Court for the issuance of search warrants were not met. The U.S. Supreme Court announced a two-pronged test to determine the sufficiency of affidavits upon which search warrants are issued. The Court said that '. . . the magistrate must be informed of some of the underlying circumstances from which the informant concluded that the narcotics were where he claimed they were, and some of the underlying circumstances from...
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Com. v. Oliveira, 92-P-1218
...624 P.2d 191 (1981). Professor Wayne LaFave reaches the same conclusion, and attacks convincingly a decision, State v. Chapman, 24 N.C.App. 462, 467, 211 S.E.2d 489 (1975), that suggests a contrary view. 1 LaFave, Search and Seizure § 3.3(e) at 672 (2d ed. 1987). Professor Yale Kamisar agre......
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State v. Romero
...see id. at 580-83, 91 S.Ct. at 2080-2081; United States v. Copeland, 538 F.2d 639, 642-43 (5th Cir.1976); State v. Chapman, 24 N.C.App. 462, 466-67, 211 S.E.2d 489, 492-93 (1975), and by the common-sense observation that papers of the type sought are often kept at home. State v. Purcell, Ut......
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State v. Weatherford
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State v. Atwell, 8221SC1059
...See United States v. Harris, 403 U.S. 573, 581-82, 91 S.Ct. 2075, 2080-81, 29 L.Ed.2d 723 (1971). This Court, in State v. Chapman, 24 N.C.App. 462, 211 S.E.2d 489 (1975), upheld a warrant issued upon an application containing information from a confidential informant who had not given any i......