United States v. Donell Hines, No. 21-2477 (8th Cir. 2023)
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The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to suppress and his request for a Franks hearing. The court explained that because Defendant was not unlawfully questioned, his contention that he could not have knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights because of the allegedly unlawful questioning necessarily fails. Defendant appealed the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress and his request for a Franks hearing. Defendant asserted that the district court correctly held that “law enforcement’s two warrantless K9 sniffs of the curtilage of his home were violations of the Fourth Amendment.” Defendant also argued that the district court erred, however, in ultimately denying his motion to suppress based on its application of the Leon good faith exception.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that the two dog sniffs occurred in September 2019; at that time, we “had neither expressly overruled Scott nor explained how Jardines applies to apartment doors in a common hallway.” The applicable standard is an objective—not subjective—one. Applying this standard, the district court correctly denied Defendant’s suppression motion. The court agreed with the government that Defendant’s challenges to the search warrant affidavit’s omission of certain details about the two dog sniff amount to “an attempt to relitigate the merits of the curtilage issue.”
Further, the court held that the district court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion to suppress statements given while he was in custody. As the district court correctly explained, “Police asked Defendant a series of simple questions to confirm his identity and ensure officer safety. They were not seeking to elicit incriminating responses from Defendant. He was read his Miranda rights prior to his further questioning in the bathroom and upon the continued questioning at the police station.” His contention that he could not have knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights because of the allegedly unlawful questioning necessarily fails.
Court Description: [Smith, Author, with Kelly and Grasz, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. The drug dog sniffs in this case were conducted in reasonable reliance on binding Eighth Circuit precedent and evidence seized pursuant to a warrant obtained in reliance on the dog's alerts was admissible as the officers were acting in good faith under Leon - see U.S. v. Perez, 46 F.4th 691 (8th Cir. 2022); Franks hearing argument rejected; the officers posed simple questions to defendant before they read him his Miranda rights in order confirm his identity and ensure officer safety, and his answers to those questions were admissible. Judge Kelly, concurring. Judge Grasz, concurring.
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