United States v. Thurman Reed, Jr.

Thurman Reed, Jr. appeals his guilty plea conviction, arguing that the district court erred in denying his motions to suppress. United States v. Reed, 810 F.Supp. 1078 (DAlaska 1992). We agree that the district court erred in suggesting that the Fourth Amendment permits police officers, without a warrant or consent of the occupant, to stand guard while private citizens conduct illegal searches for the purpose of discovering incriminating evidence. This decision conflicts with Ninth Circuit precedent and invites law enforcement officers to circumvent the Fourth Amendment by delegating illegal searches to nongovernment agents.

However, Reed’s guilty plea conviction is valid despite this error. Even excising the tainted evidence from the affidavit filed in support of the search warrant, the affidavit establishes probable cause to issue a warrant. The evidence obtained in the later warranted search is, therefore, admissible, and was more than sufficient to sustain Reed’s conviction. The district court did not clearly err in rejecting Reed’s knock-notice claim.

We affirm Reed’s conviction and sentence, but expressly disapprove the district court’s published order as…