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WI: Misdelivered letter opened by police officer at home was not state action

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A letter from defendant in jail was misdelivered to a police officer's house. When the letter was opened, the officer was acting in a personal capacity and not in an official capacity, so the Fourth Amendment does not apply. State v. Cole, 2008 Wisc. App. LEXIS 887 (November 13, 2008).* The warrant misdescribed the car to be searched because of a wrong license number. "Nowhere on the face of the warrant is Rogers' car correctly identified." The affidavit was attached, and it correctly identified the vehicle. Based on the affidavit, the officers concluded they had the right car and searched. The search was valid. State v. Rogers, 2008 Wisc. App. LEXIS 880 (November 12, 2008).

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 17, 2008 (boomark / email).