Hell's Angels Motorcycle Corporation, a California Corporation the Oakland Charter of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club v. Timothy McKinley

ORDER

The opinion filed on January 6, 2004, is hereby amended. The Clerk shall file the attached amended opinion.-

OPINION

I. OVERVIEW

FBI Special Agent McKinley executed an administrative subpoena to search documents previously seized from the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club pursuant to a search warrant. The district court dismissed the Hell’s Angels’ Bivens action against Agent McKinley, finding that he was entitled to qualified immunity. We agree with the district court’s judgment in favor of Agent McKinley, because the original seizure of the materials substantially reduced the Hell’s Angels’ reasonable expectation of privacy in the materials.

II. FACTUAL and PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

While investigating a murder and robbery, police in Monterey County, California, sought information on the activities of the Oakland Hell’s Angels. Relying on an affidavit prepared by James D. Brown, an investigator with the Monterey district attorney’s .office, a municipal court judge issued a warrant to search the Hell’s Angels’ Oakland clubhouse.

The warrant was broad, authorizing police to seize security files and dossiers with information on members, notes and minutes of club meetings;…