United States v. Harrison, No. 10-5061 (10th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff-Appellant Johnny Harrison was indicted on firearms charges. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) discovered the firearm during a warrantless search of Plaintiff's apartment. On the day of the search, ATF Agents were dressed in plain clothes, and carried concealed weapons. The Agents conceded that they had no reason to believe firearms were in the apartment, but used that line to gain Plaintiff's consent to search. Plaintiff responded that he was unsure whether he could give consent to search. The Agents responded that they had "bigger fish to fry" than to simply "bust [Plaintiff] on a bag of weed." Plaintiff gave consent after that exchange, and subsequently Agents found the firearm that lead to Plaintiff's arrest. Plaintiff moved to suppress the evidence at trial, arguing that he had not voluntarily consented to the search. The district court held a hearing and agreed that the ATF's tactics to gain Plaintiff's consent rendered that consent involuntary. The court granted the motion to suppress, and the United States appealed. The Tenth Circuit considered the Agents' "bag of weed" statement in light of the circumstances presented at trial, and concluded that the district court did not err in finding Plaintiff's consent was involuntary. The Court affirmed the district court's order on Plaintiff's motion to suppress evidence.
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