State v. Nerney
| Decision Date | 12 July 1972 |
| Docket Number | No. 1184-E,1184-E |
| Citation | 292 A.2d 882,110 R.I. 364 |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE v. Edward R. NERNEY. x. &c. |
The defendant stands charged with aiding and assisting in the recording of a bet on a game of skill (baseball)-a violation of G.L.1956, § 11-19-14. This appeal has been initiated by the state. It is before us on its exception to the granting by a justice of the Superior Court of the defendant's pretrial motion to suppress certain evidence obtained as the result of a search warrant issued by a justice of the then Sixth District Court.
The single issue to be resolved is whether the affidavit presented by the police in support of their request for the search warrant complies with the basic requirements for the issuance of such a document as they are set forth by the Supreme Court in Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964), and later reaffirmed in Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 89 S.Ct. 584, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969).
Aguilar stands for the proposition that the probable cause, which must be shown before a magistrate can issue a search warrant, may be present when the information which provides the basis for the warrant comes from an unidentified informer provided there is a showing of the underlying circumstances both of the informer's conclusion that the law is being violated and the officer's conclusion that his informant is reliable.
Before looking at the affidavit in the case at bar and testing it in the light of Aguilar, it must be kept in mind that while a showing of probable cause is a prerequisite to the issuance of a search warrant, there is a significant difference between the quantum of proof necessary to establish guilt and the degree of proof necessary to establish the probable cause which justifies the issuance of a search warrant. It is well established that an affidavit offered in support of a search warrant should not be judged as if it had been drafted by one schooled in the niceties of the law nor should it be interpreted in a hypertechnical manner. All that is required for the issuance of a search warrant is that a common-sense evaluation of the entire affidavit, together with the reasonable inferences which can be drawn therefrom, leads to the conclusion that there is probable cause to search the premises described in the affidavit. 1
Examining the affidavit before us in the light of these rules, we conclude that it satisfies the rule in Aguilar. We will summarize the facts stated in the affidavit but not necessarily in the same order as they appear therein.
The affidavit was executed on August 9, 1968, by Detective Chester H. Rich, a member of the 'C' Squad of the Providence Police Department. On August 2, 1968, he was told by a reliable informer that Nerney was booking bets by telephone in a third-floor tenement located at 28 Meader Street in Providence. The informer said that the telephone number at this location was 521-9285 and that, by calling this number, he had placed several bets with Nerney.
Detective Rich...
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State v. Verrecchia
... ... Moreover, as we have previously stated, "an affidavit offered in support of a search warrant should not be judged as if it had been drafted by one schooled in the niceties of the law nor should it be interpreted in a hypertechnical manner." State v. Nerney, 110 R.I. 364, 365, 292 A.2d 882, 883 (1972) ; see also United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 109, 85 S.Ct. 741, 13 L.Ed.2d 684 (1965) ("[W]hen a magistrate has found probable cause, the courts should not invalidate the warrant by interpreting the affidavit in a hypertechnical, rather than ... ...
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State v. Reisner
...warrant should not be judged as if it had been drafted by one schooled in the niceties of the law") (quoting State v. Nerney , 110 R.I. 364, 365, 292 A.2d 882, 883 (1972) ). Critically, this analysis rests on probabilities. "Probable cause exists when the affidavit demonstrates in some trus......
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State v. Verrecchia, No. 2001-554-C.A (RI 8/26/2005)
... ... Moreover, as we have previously stated, "an affidavit offered in support of a search warrant should not be judged as if it had been drafted by one schooled in the niceties of the law nor should it be interpreted in a hypertechnical manner." State v. Nerney , 110 R.I. 364, 365, 292 A.2d 882, 883 (1972); see also United States v. Ventresca , 380 U.S. 102, 109 (1965) ("[W]hen a magistrate has found probable cause, the courts should not invalidate the warrant by interpreting the affidavit in a hypertechnical, rather than a commonsense, manner."); ... ...
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State v. Ricci
...to a judicial officer before acting.' " Id. at 250, 292 A.2d at 221-22. This rationale was further illuminated in State v. Nerney, 110 R.I. 364, 292 A.2d 882 (1972). "[I]t must be kep in mind that while a showing of probable cause is a prerequisite to the issuance of a search warrant, there......