Case o' The Week: Don't Bother With Fed, Use County Instead - Artis and Federal Agent Execution of State Search Warrants

  Where do federal agents go for search warrants, for searches to be undertaken by federal investigators, producing evidence leading to federal prosecutions?

  

  Alameda County, of course.

United States v. Artis, 2019 WL 1375260 (9th Cir. Mar. 27, 2019), decision available here.

Players: Decision by Judge Watford, joined by Judge Tashima and visiting DJ Robreno.

  Hard-fought appeals by ND Cal CJA Stalwarts John Jordan and Steven Gruel (whose names are curiously omitted from the opinion). Underlying suppression of evidence by ND Cal DJ Chhabria.

Facts: Artis and Hopkins were allegedly involved in credit card fraud. Id. at *1. They were state fugitives. Id. 

  Federal Special Agent Stonie Carlson was assigned to the "Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force," a joint state-federal task force under the direction of the Marshals. 

  Agent Carlson found Artis, scuffled with him, and ended up with Artis’ phone when Artis fled. Id. Agent Carlson sought a warrant to search the phone from an Alameda County Superior Court (California) judge. Id. Carlson didn’t base the warrant on Artis’ fugitive status – it was instead based on alleged “evidence of crime.” Id. The warrant was directed to “any peace officer in Alameda County” (and federal agents are not “peace officers” under California law.) Id. 

  Federal agents searched the phone, and obtained evidence leading to federal prosecutions. Id. at *2. 

  Northern District of California District Judge Chhabria suppressed the evidence from warrants for both Artis and Hopkins. 

  The government appealed.

Issue(s): “Whether the warrants were improperly executed by federal agents is a closer question. California law requires search warrants to be executed by ‘peace officers,’ but federal agents may assist a peace officer in executing a search warrant, provided the federal agent is acting ‘in aid of the officer on his requiring it, he being present and acting in its execution.’ . . . . [I] t seems doubtful that this requirement was satisfied here, although California courts do not appear to have addressed how strictly this provision should be construed when federal agents execute a search warrant as members of a joint federal-state task force that includes peace officers.” Id. at *4.

Held: “We find it unnecessary to decide whether federal agents violated California law by executing the Artis and Hopkins warrants. Even if such a violation occurred, the warrants would still be valid under the Fourth Amendment. An otherwise properly issued search warrant is not rendered void for Fourth Amendment purposes merely because it was executed by law enforcement officers who lacked warrant-executing authority under state law.” Id. at *5.

  [The Ninth later affirms Judge Chhabria as to suppression on the Artis warrant: there was insufficient probable cause. Id. at *7].

Of Note: In this same case, Agent Stonie Carlson obtained another search warrant, for a cell-site simulator for Artis' co-defendant, Hopkins. 

  As with the Artis warrant, Agent Carlson got an Alameda County judge to sign the warrant. Id. at *3. Agent Carlson then deployed the cell-site simulator – in San Francisco County! Id. at *3 & n.2. 

  Judge Watford avoids deciding the legality of that gambit, but notes Hopkins is free to raise that issue on remand. Id. 

  County-hopping search warrants are common in NorCal: will be interesting to see how this challenge pans out.

How to Use: Agent Carlon could have easily obtained a (federal) warrant to search the phone based on Artis’ fugitive status. Instead, he bungled, and relied on an “evidence of crime” theory that didn’t show probable cause. 

  “Meh, close enough for government work,” the Feds pleaded on appeal. The government urged the Ninth to uphold the search warrant based on a “fugitive” theory not identified in the warrant application. 

  The Ninth was unimpressed. Judge Watford “reject[s] the government assertion that the warrant may be upheld” on this alternative “fugitive” basis: the government is stuck with the probable cause basis actually articulated in the warrant application. Id. at *5. 

  The Ninth's limitation on alternative search warrant theories in Artis is a useful rejection of a government dodge.   

                                               

For Further Reading: Judge Chhabria didn’t mince words, when describing this investigation. “[T]he whole string of errors embodied in these warrant applications militates against applying the good-faith exception. Indeed, although the above-described errors are the most egregious ones, they are not the only instances of sloppy, inappropriate law enforcement work.”

  For a more fulsome description of a very troubling case (including a French Poodle Sheriff analysis), see Judge Slams FBI for Improper Cellphone Search, Stingray Use, here. 

Image of Task Force patch from https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/marshal-pacific-southwest-regional-1788753130

Alameda County Seal from http://www.acgov.org/government/ 

San Francisco City & County Seal from https://www.linkedin.com/company/city-and-county-of-san-francisco 

French Poodle image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poodle 

Steven Kalar, Federal Public Defender Northern District of California. Website at www.ndcalfpd.org

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