State v. White

Decision Date09 December 1980
Docket NumberNo. 21349,21349
Citation275 S.C. 500,272 S.E.2d 800
CourtSouth Carolina Supreme Court
PartiesThe STATE, Respondent, v. Bernard Mikell WHITE, Appellant.

Staff Atty. David W. Carpenter of S. C. Commission of Appellate Defense, Columbia, for appellant.

Atty. Gen. Daniel R. McLeod and Asst. Attys. Gen. Kay G. Crowe and Lindy P. Funkhouser, Columbia; and Sol. Capers G. Barr, III, Charleston, for respondent.

NESS, Justice:

Appellant Bernard Mikell White was convicted of armed robbery and murder and sentenced to consecutive terms of twenty years and life imprisonment. He challenged the sufficiency of the affidavit in support of the search warrant. We find no error and affirm.

Affidavits for search warrants must be tested and interpreted by magistrates and courts in a common sense and realistic fashion since they are normally drafted by non-lawyers in the haste of a criminal investigation. United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 85 S.Ct. 741, 13 L.Ed.2d 684 (1965); State v. Sullivan, 267 S.C. 610, 230 S.E.2d 621 (1976). The threefold purpose of the warrant requirement is to provide the safeguard of detached judicial scrutiny prior to the issuance of the warrant ; to keep lawfully initiated searches within the proper bounds; and to assure the individual of the lawful authority of the officer executing the search, his need to search and the limits of his power to search. It is the protection of the people and their privacy that is the core of the Fourth Amendment.

Warrants for appellant's arrest and for the search of his residence were issued simultaneously on December 13, 1978. Appellant argues the affidavit presented to the magistrate in support of the search warrant failed to establish probable cause necessary for its issuance. We agree.

However, the affidavit for the arrest warrant was also before the magistrate at this time. Facts supplied by two affidavits, simultaneously filed and considered by the magistrate, could be taken into account by him in determining the existence of probable cause. United States v. Nolan, 413 F.2d 850 (6th Cir. 1969); United States v. Bozza, 365 F.2d 206 (2nd Cir. 1966); Blankenship v. State, 258 Ark. 535, 527 S.W.2d 636 (1975); State v. Kalai, 56 Haw. 366, 537 P.2d 8 (1975); State v. Smith, 295 Minn. 65, 203 N.W.2d 348 (1972).

Our primary concern is that the magistrate is sufficiently informed to make an independent determination of probable cause. A search warrant issued upon affidavit or affirmation does not offend the constitution. State v. Sachs, 264 S.C. 541, 216 S.E.2d 501 (1975). Any information relied upon to establish probable cause must be in the words of the Fourth Amendment, "upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation." We held in Sachs, supra, that an affidavit could be supplemented by oral testimony. We now hold it is...

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6 cases
  • State v. Dunbar
    • United States
    • South Carolina Court of Appeals
    • September 27, 2004
    ...that an affidavit consists of statements of fact which is sworn to as the truth, while an oath is a pledge...."); State v. White, 275 S.C. 500, 502, 272 S.E.2d 800, 801 (1980) (holding that a search warrant issued upon affidavit or affirmation does not offend the Constitution); State v. Yor......
  • State v. Hinds
    • United States
    • Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
    • August 11, 2023
    ... ... police-assigned Ford Explorer. Officer Justice observed water ... "gushing" out from underneath the manhole cover, ... and an "A-frame or saw horse type reflective ... barricade" was in the road over the manhole cover. The ... barricade had orange and white stripes that were reflective ... when his headlights shown on it. He parked his vehicle in a ... nearby driveway and noted that a street light next to the ... driveway illuminated the area around the manhole cover. He ... did not activate the blue lights on his vehicle, ... ...
  • US v. Clyburn
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina
    • December 4, 1992
    ...before the magistrate by sworn oral testimony." State v. McKnight, 291 S.C. 110, 352 S.E.2d 471, 472 (1987) (citing State v. White, 275 S.C. 500, 272 S.E.2d 800 (1980); State v. Sachs, 264 S.C. 541, 216 S.E.2d 501 (1975)); see also State v. Crane, 296 S.C. 336, 372 S.E.2d 587, 588 Although ......
  • Derr v. Com.
    • United States
    • Virginia Supreme Court
    • November 8, 1991
    ...to the issuing magistrate by the same officer. See Tucker v. State, 403 So.2d 1274, 1278 (Miss.1981); State v. White, 275 S.C. 500, 502, 272 S.E.2d 800, 801 (1980). Accordingly, the magistrate did not violate Code § 19.2-54 when she considered the collective facts contained in the several a......
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