NCJ Number
183429
Journal
Crime to Court Dated: June 2000 Pages: 1-11
Date Published
2000
Length
15 pages
Annotation
In the 1978 case Franks v. Delaware, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a defendant in a criminal prosecution has the right, in certain circumstances, to challenge the lawfulness of a search warrant, even after the search warrant has been issued and executed, and a case in South Carolina involving a cocaine ring is analyzed in the context of this decision.
Abstract
In 1995, police detectives in Greenville, South Carolina, were investigating a cocaine ring with the help of a confidential informant. The police obtained a search warrant to search a home for cocaine, and the lead police detective submitted an affidavit in support of the search warrant. When the police executed the search warrant, they arrested the suspect for trafficking in cocaine. At trial, the defendant moved to suppress the evidence obtained in the search, arguing that the affidavit supporting the search warrant contained false information and further omitted critical exculpatory information. The trial court denied the motion to suppress but an appellate court reversed the trial court, holding that the omitted information was necessary for the magistrate's finding of probable cause. The state argued that the appellate court improperly applied the Franks v. Delaware test in deciding whether the magistrate had probable cause to issue the search warrant. The analysis of the case, however, indicates there is no violation of the Franks v. Delaware test if the affidavit, including omitted data, contains sufficient information to establish probable cause.