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DE: Probation search technical requirements are subject to substantial compliance

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A probation search is an administrative search, and it only need substantially comply with the administrative requirements to be reasonable. Pendleton v. State, 2010 Del. LEXIS 78 (February 23, 2010): In this appeal, we consider the validity of evidence seized during an administrative search conducted after a probation officer telephonically conferred with his supervisor but failed to complete a tangible, paper copy of a pre-search checklist. Ezra Pendleton contends that absent exigent circumstances, probation officers should strictly comply with the Department of Corrections' guidelines and failure to do so here necessitates a reversal of his Possession with intent to Deliver Cocaine conviction. In Fuller v. State, we acknowledged that substantial compliance with departmental guidelines alone--not absolute compliance--sufficiently withstands review of an administrative search...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 27, 2010 (boomark / email).