United States v. Spivey, No. 15-15023 (11th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseNot all deception by law enforcement invalidates voluntary consent. Defendants pleaded guilty to several offenses related to credit card fraud and then appealed the denial of their motion to suppress evidence. The Fifth Circuit held that the district court did not clearly err in finding that one of the defendants voluntarily consented to the search because she made a strategic choice to report a burglary and to admit the officers into her home. In this case, defendants' home was previously burgled and officers came to their house on the pretense of following up on the burglaries. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in determining that the "ruse" did not coerce defendant into giving her consent voluntarily. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on September 13, 2017.
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