United States v. Brooks, Jr., No. 12-3152 (8th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his conviction for offenses related to a bank robbery. The court concluded that, even if the court assumed that the initial search of the cell phone at issue was improper, the subsequent search warrant satisfied both of the independent source requirements; the untainted contents of the search warrant affidavit provided probable cause; the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of cell phone photos and video because they were intrinsic to the crimes charged and Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) did not apply to the photos and video from the cell phone; the admission of the photos and videos did not violate Federal Rule of Evidence 403 because the probative value of the photos and video was not substantially outweighed by the potential for unfair prejudice; the GPS reports were non-testimonial and their admission did not violate defendant's Confrontation Clause rights; the district court did not err in denying defendant's motion for a mistrial based on an alleged violation of the district court's sequestration order; and the evidence presented at trial was more than sufficient for a reasonable jury to conclude that defendant was guilty of the crimes for which he was charged. Accordingly, the court confirmed the convictions.
Court Description: Criminal Case - conviction. Need not determine whether cell phone is a container for purposes of automobile exception to warrantless search because subsequent warrant was an independent source for the evidence and independent source requirements were met. District court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of cell phone photos and video because evidence was intrinsic to charged crimes of bank robbery and firearm possession offenses. Admission of evidence from GPS tracking device was not an abuse of discretion; courts may take judicial notice of the accuracy and reliability to GPS technology, proper foundation was laid, business records exception to hearsay rules applied and confrontation clause did not apply as the GPS reports were non- testimonial. Denial of motion for mistrial based on violation of the sequestration order was not an abuse of discretion. Judgment of acquittal was properly denied, as there was more than sufficient evidence to support bank robbery gun possession convictions.
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