US v. Arnott, No. 13-1881 (1st Cir. 2014)
Annotate this Case
In 2011, agents intercepted a call between James Brichetto and a potential customer, Michael Leavitt, in which Leavitt sought to purchase approximately 100 oxycodone pills. Brichetto asked whether Leavitt was with someone else, and Leavitt responded affirmatively. As the conversation wound down, Brichetto and Leavitt agreed to meet in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Scarborough, Maine. Defendant Paul Arnott was a passenger in Leavitt's car. The issues this case presented for the First Circuit's review centered on a court order issued in November 2011, which authorized a wiretap on a cellular telephone in the possession of Brichetto (a suspected drug dealer). Agents pulled Leavitt's car over, and asked the occupants to get out. Agents searched the car and found drugs in the compartment. Defendant would ultimately be arrested on drug charges. After the district court denied his motion for suppression, defendant entered a conditional guilty plea, reserving his right to challenge the suppression ruling. Following the imposition of sentence, defendant acted upon this reservation and appealed. Finding no reversible error, the First Circuit affirmed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.