United States v. Grey, No. 18-50328 (9th Cir. 2020)
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The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's order granting defendant's motion to suppress evidence. The panel held that where, as here, law enforcement officers are asked to assist in the execution of an administrative warrant authorizing the inspection of a private residence, they violate the Fourth Amendment when their "primary purpose" in executing the warrant is to gather evidence in support of a criminal investigation rather than to assist the inspectors.
The panel need not address defendant's argument that the warrant itself was invalid under state law nor whether LASD exceeded the scope of the warrant. The panel only held that the LASD's execution was unreasonable and thus the district court properly granted defendant's motion to suppress.
Court Description: Criminal Law. Affirming the district court’s order granting a criminal defendant’s motion to suppress evidence seized by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies, the panel held that where, as here, law enforcement officers are asked to assist in the execution of an administrative warrant authorizing the inspection of a private residence, they violate the Fourth Amendment when their “primary purpose” in executing the warrant is to gather evidence in support of a criminal investigation rather than to assist the inspectors. Dissenting, Judge Bybee wrote that, given that there was a California Superior Court inspection warrant authorizing sheriff’s deputies to accompany the housing inspectors, the deputies would have entered the defendant’s house regardless of their subjective motivations, so the correct inquiry is whether, once inside the home, the deputies’ actions exceeded the permissible scope of a protective sweep. UNITED STATES V. GREY 3
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