People v. Superior Court (Moore)

*1004 Opinion

Petitioner, the People, seeks a writ of mandate pursuant to Penal Code section 1538.5 to compel respondent court to reverse its order granting real parties’ motion to suppress evidence.

The underlying cause is a criminal one, in which the real parties are accused of theft of trade secrets, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, offering bribes and solicitation.

The object of the alleged criminal activity was the theft of trade secrets belonging to Intel Corporation, and the affidavit on which the first of two challenged search warrants was issued, recited that real party Moore—an Intel employee—approached one Worth, a purchasing agent for National Semiconductor Corporation (NSC), and offered to sell him such secrets. Worth then informed NSC’s president; the police were alerted, and it was arranged that Worth would meet with real parties Moore and Gopal to consummate the sale. Other meetings followed, at which Dunlap, an Intel employee who was present, learned the identity and location of “saleable” items at Gopal’s business address and at his home.

On the basis of this information, a search warrant was issued authorizing seizure of a number of items, to…

I concur in part I of the majority opinion for the reasons stated therein. I concur in the result with regard to part II on the ground that while it would have been better practice to include in the affidavit a more particularized statement as to the basis for Dunlap’s belief that certain items belonged to semiconductor companies other than Intel and that they had been stolen, the affidavit contains sufficient indicia of reliability and credibility to support the second warrant. I would not sustain the seizure of these items on the alternative basis of the “plain view” exception to the warrant requirement, except as to the nine reticles which contained the Intel logo, and which Dunlap so identified to the officers.

The petition of real parties in interest for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied June 18, 1980. Mosk, J., was of the opinion that the petition should be granted.

Sheldon Portman, Public Defender, Frank D. Berry, Jr., and Michael A. Kresser, Deputy Public Defenders, and Leonard P. Edwards for Real Parties in Interest.

OPINION

NEWSOM, J.

Petitioner, the People, seeks a writ of mandate pursuant to Penal Code section 1538.5 to compel respondent court to reverse its order granting real parties' motion to suppress evidence.

The underlying cause is a criminal one, in which the real parties are accused of theft of trade secrets, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, offering bribes and solicitation.

The object of the alleged criminal activity was the theft of trade secrets belonging to Intel Corporation, and the affidavit on which the first of two challenged search warrants was issued, recited that real party Moore — an Intel employee — approached one Worth, a purchasing agent for National Semiconductor Corporation (NSC), and offered to sell him such secrets. Worth then informed NSC's president; the police were alerted, and it was arranged that Worth would meet with real parties Moore and Gopal to consummate the sale. Other meetings followed, at which Dunlap, an Intel employee who was present, learned the identity and location of…