United States v. Reynolds

• Decision Date: 11 February 1953
• Docket Number: Cr. No. 1869-52.
• Citation: 111 F. Supp. 589
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. REYNOLDS et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

111 F. Supp. 589

UNITED STATES v. REYNOLDS et al.

Cr. No. 1869-52.

United States District Court District of Columbia.

February 11, 1953.

Charles M. Irelan, U. S. Atty., and Frederick G. Smithson, Asst. U. S. Atty., Washington, D. C., for the United States.

Ralph Stein, of Washington, D. C., for defendant.

CHARLES F. McLAUGHLIN, District Judge.

After entering a plea of not guilty to a two count indictment charging them with violating the federal narcotic laws,¹ the defendants seasonably moved to have certain evidence suppressed which was seized from their home during a search of the premises by officers of the Metropolitan Police Department on October 31, 1952. Their contention is that there was lack of probable cause to issue a search warrant; therefore since the search was illegal, the evidence seized is inadmissible.

The warrant was issued upon an affidavit of a detective assigned to the Narcotic Squad of the Metropolitan Police Department. The affidavit reveals that this detective had received information from a reliable source in the past that the defendant Charles Reynolds had secreted a large quantity of narcotic drugs in the ground in the basement of the house where he resided, and that Charles Reynolds was a known peddler of narcotic drugs in Washington D. C. Acting on this information the detective found that the said defendant had previously been convicted of violating the Marihuana Tax Act, 50 Stat. 551, and that the premises mentioned above were listed in the Assessor's Office of the District of Columbia as belonging to the movants.

Thus armed, the officer swore to an affidavit for a search warrant before the United States Commissioner that he believed that the information was true but that he was reluctant to disclose the identity of the informant for fear of serious bodily harm to that individual.

Upon the issuance of the warrant the police, on the same day, conducted a search of the premises. The search disclosed the evidence now sought to be suppressed. However, the results of that search are of no concern here since it is axiomatic that the fruits of an illegal search cannot be used against a defendant. McDonald v. United States, 1948, 335 U.S. 451, 69 S.Ct. 191, 93 L.Ed. 153; Johnson v. United States, 1948, 333 U.S. 10, 68 S.Ct. 367, 92 L.Ed. 436; Nueslein v. District of Columbia, 1940, 73 App.D.C. 85, 115 F.2d 690.

The question before the Court is: Does the affidavit reveal adequate probable cause as distinguished from mere suspicion to cause the issuance of the search warrant? "That line i. e. the line between probable cause and suspicion necessarily must be drawn by an act of judgment formed in the light of the particular situation and with account taken of all the circumstances." Brinegar v. United States, 1949, 338 U.S. 160, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 1311, 93 L.Ed. 1879. In other words, the Court must view the situation in the light of the peculiar circumstances of the case to determine whether the facts and circumstances within the detective's personal knowledge and of which he had reasonably trustworthy information were sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution to believe that narcotic drugs were being illegally held on the defendants' premises. United States v. Rabinowitz, 1950, 339 U.S. 56, 70 S.Ct. 430, 94 L.Ed. 653; Brinegar v. United States, supra; Mills v. United States, 1952, 90 U.S.App.D.C. 365, 196 F. 2d 600.

The Court is well aware that the existence of probable cause to sustain the issuance of the warrant does not require that the detective have had legal evidence sufficient to convict. See Brinegar, supra, 338 U.S. at page 174, 69 S.Ct. at page 1310, notes 12, 13. This principle, applied by this branch of the District Court sitting as the trial Judge was recently affirmed by the Court of Appeals in Washington v. United States, D.C.Cir., 202 F.2d 214. There the question was substantially the same as the question at bar. But there, when stripped of its surplusage, the affidavit clearly showed that the facts and circumstances revealed sufficient probable cause to sustain the issuance of the warrant.

In this jurisdiction it has long been held that "affidavits * * * which simply state that the affiant * * * has reason to believe and does believe that a crime has been or is in course of being committed, or which go no farther than to allege conclusions of law or of fact, or which set out on mere information and belief the material facts on which the right to search or seize is based, are insufficient to support a search warrant, and any search warrant issued on such affidavits * * * is invalid." Schencks v. United States, 1924, 55 App.D.C. 84, 2 F.2d 185,...