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Cal.3: GFE applies to a pre-Gant search incident

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The good faith exception applies to a search incident occurring before Gant that became unreasonable under Gant. People v. Branner, 2009 Cal. App. LEXIS 2022 (3d Dist. December 17, 2009): A question posed in this case is whether the guilty must go free when (1) at the time such evidence was obtained by a law enforcement officer, a decision of the United States Supreme Court instructed the officer that the manner in which he searched for and seized the evidence was lawful, but (2) thereafter, the Supreme Court changed its mind. As we will explain, the answer is "No." Although it may be that a "criminal is to go free because the constable has blundered" (People v. Defore (1926) 242 N.Y. 13, 21), the guilty should not go free when the constable did precisely what the United States Supreme Court told him he could do, but the court later decides it is the one who blundered...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on December 19, 2009 (boomark / email).