-Caveat Lector- California Supreme Court validates search warrant with wrong address By DAVID KRAVETS Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The California Supreme Court delved into the sensitive area of police search-and-seizure law Monday, validating a warrant with the wrong address. Still, the unanimous decision did not break new ground in search- and-seizure law. Instead, the ruling reinstated the conviction of a Los Angeles County man in which authorities found drugs, weapons and bogus phone-access cards in his Santa Fe Springs residence. The high court said although the warrant's address was false, authorities searched the correct house in 1997. California and federal courts have upheld warrants that provided wrong addresses and faulty descriptions of houses subject to a search. Defense attorneys argued it was an illegal search because the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department searched a house not authorized by a warrant, in violation of the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment. Defendant Luis Amador's attorneys claimed that a neighbor's house may have been the residence to be searched and that authorities illegally stumbled on his small amount of methamphetamine for sale, a loaded firearm and hundreds of counterfeited telephone access cards. The state Supreme Court held Monday that, despite the address error and an erroneous description of the residence, the officer who applied for and executed the warrant had previously viewed the house from the outside with an informant. And there were no other residences with the faulty address, the court noted. "The warrant and the officer's knowledge together leave no doubt that the magistrate found probable cause to search one particular house to the exclusion of all others, i.e., the house actually searched," Justice Ming W. Chin wrote for the court. Magistrates or judges issue warrants at the request of law enforcement authorities. An appeals court threw out Amador's conviction after concluding the search was reckless. In reinstating the conviction, the high court said that, to exclude evidence seized with a defective warrant, police conduct first must be examined. That is to avoid so-called "exploratory searches," which result when warrants do not clearly state a purpose or provide false information. But in this case, the court found, authorities' conduct was not in dispute. The court said that "complete precision" in describing a residence to be searched is not required. When warrants contain inaccurate descriptions, for example, they can be thrown out if they lead or could lead to the wrong house being searched, Chin wrote. "We find the executing officer was easily able to locate and identify the specified premises and there was little probability that another premise would be mistakenly searched," Chin wrote. ### A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures. -- Daniel Webster <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
