United States v. Jeffrey Grubbs

Jeffrey Grubbs appeals following his conditional guilty plea on a charge of receiving a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 18 U.S.C. § 2252 (a)(2). He contends that the district court should have granted his motion to suppress evidence, including his statements, because the anticipatory search warrant that authorized the search of his premises was invalid under the Fourth Amendment. To resolve Grubbs’ claim, we must determine whether a facially defective anticipatory search warrant may be cured by information contained within an affidavit when that affidavit is not presented to the person or persons whose property is to be searched. We answer that question in the negative, and hold that the search of Grubbs’ premises violated the Fourth Amendment.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On April 17, 2002, United States Postal Inspector Gary Welsh (“Welsh”) presented an “Application and Affidavit for Anticipatory Search Warrant” to a federal magistrate judge. The application sought authority to conduct a search of Grubbs’ residence on the basis of an order Grubbs allegedly placed for a videotape entitled “Lolita Mother and Daughter.” Grubbs allegedly…