U.S. v. Singer
| Decision Date | 01 October 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-2148,90-2148 |
| Citation | 943 F.2d 758 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. James Paul SINGER, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
James L. Santelle (argued), Eric J. Klumb, Asst. U.S. Attys., John E. Fryatt, U.S. Atty., Office of the U.S. Atty., Milwaukee, Wis., for plaintiff-appellant.
William E. Callahan, Jr. (argued), Davis & Kuelthau, Milwaukee, Wis., for defendant-appellee.
Before BAUER, Chief Judge, and POSNER and KANNE, Circuit Judges.
On the morning of January 25, 1989, officers of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department, armed with a search warrant, made an unannounced entry into the private residence of James Paul Singer. The search which followed uncovered 3.2 kilograms of methamphetamine. As a result of this discovery, Singer was charged with conspiring to manufacture and distribute amphetamine and methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).
Before trial, Singer moved to suppress the physical evidence seized by the police during the search of his house, as well as any statements he made to law enforcement officials following the search, on the grounds that the search had violated his state and federal constitutional rights. Specifically, he maintained that the failure of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department officers to knock on his door and announce their presence and purpose before entering his home infringed his fourth amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The district court granted his motion to suppress, 727 F.Supp. 1281, and the government now appeals the ruling pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3731.
The events leading to Singer's arrest began when a local law enforcement agency received two anonymous tips that Singer was selling a variety of illegal drugs--cocaine, crack, acid, speed, and marijuana--out of his home. One of the tips, a Community Against Pushers (CAP) report, also stated that Singer possessed firearms (handguns) and had made threats. Approximately six months later, the police began a criminal investigation of Singer. As part of this investigation, law enforcement officials conducted garbage searches at Singer's home which uncovered paper folds, plastic strips, plastic gloves, razors, drug records and baggies. Some of this drug paraphernalia tested positive for the presence of cocaine and methamphetamine residue, corroborating the information previously provided by the anonymous tips. In addition, following the garbage searches, a confidential informant made a controlled purchase of methamphetamine from Singer at his residence.
Sergeant Alton D. Porter and Detective Mary K. Sage of the Office of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department took this information before a Wisconsin circuit court judge to request that search warrants be issued for Singer's person, house, garage and automobiles. After listening to the officers lay out their case against Singer, the judge concluded that probable cause existed (except with respect to the automobiles) and issued the warrants.
Having obtained the warrants, the testifying officers additionally asked the judge to include a no-knock provision in the warrant for the residence which would allow them to enter Singer's home without first announcing their presence. 1 To justify this request, the testifying officer presented the judge with the anonymous citizen complaints which alleged that large amounts of drugs were being sold out of Singer's home and the CAP report stating that Singer possessed handguns. 2 Based on her experiences as a police officer, Detective Sage also testified that drug dealers frequently have weapons in their possession. And finally, she stated that there was a possibility that the drugs would be destroyed if police entry into Singer's home was delayed. Relying on this testimony, the judge granted the request on the grounds that it would both better ensure the safety of the officers executing the warrant and prevent Singer from possibly destroying evidence of his illegal activities.
Early the following morning, approximately fifteen Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department officers executed the warrant. Operating in no-knock fashion, they broke down the back door with a sledgehammer and entered Singer's home. The officers then proceeded to search through the house, while repeatedly shouting "Police, Search Warrant." Shortly after entering the residence, police found Singer lying awake in an upstairs bedroom with his wife and baby daughter. At that time, the officers read the contents of the warrant to Singer and informed him of his constitutional rights. Singer quickly made incriminating statements which confirmed the presence of controlled substances in his home. 3 By the time the search was complete, the officers had uncovered 3.2 kilograms of methamphetamine with a street value exceeding $100,000, one pound of marijuana, $40,000 in United States currency, drug paraphernalia and records, three handguns, two rifles, and a shotgun. Singer offered no resistance at any time during the police search.
Singer and Brian J. Halenka, a co-conspirator, were subsequently charged in a federal indictment in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. 4 Before trial, Singer moved to suppress the fruits of the search, arguing that no particularized circumstances justified either the issuance of a no-knock warrant or the officers' execution of the warrant in a no-knock manner. Based on his review of the record, the magistrate concluded that Singer was correct in his contention that the search had violated his constitutional rights. Concurring in the magistrate's determination, the district judge entered Singer's requested order.
Following entry of the order, the United States Attorney's office informed the court that it planned to appeal the ruling and specifically indicated that part of the government's appeal would focus on whether the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule made suppression an inappropriate remedy in this case. In response, the district court vacated its previous order and conducted a formal evidentiary hearing on the issue of the officers' good faith reliance on the legality of the warrant. After listening to testimony and arguments on the issue during a pre-trial evidentiary hearing, the district judge again concluded that the no-knock provision of the state search warrant was improperly included and that no additional information was acquired between the time of the warrant's issuance and its execution which would justify the officers entering Singer's home without first knocking and announcing their presence. The district court also ruled that the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule established by United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984), was inapplicable to the facts of this case, although it supplied no reason for this conclusion. It then granted the defendant's motion to suppress the evidence seized during the search.
We must initially address the issue of what law--Wisconsin state law or federal law--governs the admissibility of evidence seized during the execution of the warrant. Although recognizing that federal law and Wisconsin state law differed little with respect to the reasonableness of no-knock searches, the district court concluded that state law governs the legality of searches conducted by state officials so long as the law does not violate the fourth amendment. The court then proceeded to analyze the admissibility of the evidence gained in the officers' no-knock search under the legal standard set out in the Wisconsin case of State v. Cleveland, 118 Wis.2d 615, 348 N.W.2d 512 (1984). This approach is inappropriate for evidentiary determinations in federal criminal cases.
As we have noted before, federal standards control the admissibility of evidence in a federal prosecution even though the evidence was seized by state officials and would not be admissible in state court. United States v. D'Antoni, 874 F.2d 1214, 1218 (7th Cir.1989); United States v. Mealy, 851 F.2d 890, 907 (7th Cir.1988). Whether the evidence in the case was seized in contravention of the constitution or laws of the state of Wisconsin does not control its admissibility in federal criminal proceedings; and accordingly, the officers' compliance or lack of compliance with Wisconsin law (as set forth in Cleveland ) is irrelevant. Rather, the proper standard for federal application provides that evidence seized by state law enforcement officers is admissible in a federal criminal proceeding if it is obtained in a manner consistent with the protections afforded by the United States Constitution and federal law. D'Antoni, 874 F.2d at 1218; Mealy, 851 F.2d at 907.
In applying this standard, the initial question we must therefore answer is whether the state judge's authorization of a warrant was consistent with the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution. Here, it clearly was. The police presented information to the judge indicating that an informant had made a controlled buy from Singer's home, that searches of the defendant's garbage had revealed drug paraphernalia which tested positive for cocaine and methamphetamine residue, and that anonymous tips had alleged Singer was selling drugs from his home. Probable cause, therefore, existed to support the issuance of the warrant.
But, Singer's argument that the evidence should be suppressed is not based on a claim that the police lacked probable cause to obtain the search warrant. Rather, his complaint is that the officers' execution of the warrant was unconstitutional. 5 We disagree.
As our prior discussion indicates, we must determine if the search contravened federal...
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