United States v. Michael Owen Brannan

Michael Owen Brannan appeals his conviction following a jury trial for use of a counterfeit access device, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029 (a)(1). On appeal Brannan challenges the district court’s denial of his pre-trial motion to suppress evidence seized from his home by United States Secret Service agents and the adequacy of the government’s proof that he used “counterfeit access devices” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 1029 (a)(1). We affirm.

For three years before his arrest in April, 1988, Brannan obtained and used numerous credit cards in names other than his own. Brannan procured these cards by submitting applications containing false or inflated information to such companies as American Express, Bullocks, and Torrey Pines Bank.

A. Suppression Motion

On April 28, 1988, Secret Service agents, acting without a warrant but with the consent of Brannan’s wife, searched Brannan’s residence and seized evidence of the offenses charged in the indictment. Mrs. Brannan was a joint owner of the house, but recently had moved out of the residence. Brannan had been arrested and charged with spousal abuse in February, 1988. After his wife moved out, Brannan changed the house…