Motion to Suppress

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According to Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, the police were required to obtain the search warrant within a reasonable period of time after seizing the phone. United States v. Burgard, 675 F.3d 1029, 1032 (7th Cir.2012) (citing Segura v. United States, 468 U.S. 796, 812, 104 S.Ct. 3380, 82 L.Ed.2d 599 (1984) (“[A] seizure reasonable at its inception because based on probable cause may become unreasonable as a result of its duration.”)) “There is unfortunately no bright line past which a delay becomes unreasonable.” Burgard, 675 F.3d at 1032. Instead, courts have to assess the reasonableness of a delay on a case-by-case basis and in light of all the facts and circumstances. United States v. Christie, 717 F.3d 1156, 1162 (10th Cir.2013); United States v. Mitchell, 565 F.3d 1347, 1351 (11th Cir.2009) (citing United States v. Mayomi, 873 F.2d 1049, 1054 n. 6 (7th Cir.1989)). To determine whether the seizure became unreasonable, courts must weigh “the nature and quality of the intrusion on the individual's Fourth Amendment interests against the importance of the governmental interests alleged to justify the intrusion.” Burgard, 675 F.3d at 1032 (citing United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 703, 103 S.Ct. 2637, 77 L.Ed.2d 110 (1983)); see also Illinois v. McArthur, 531 U.S. 326, 331, 121 S.Ct. 946, 148 L.Ed.2d 838 (2001) (courts are to “balance the privacy-related and law enforcement-related concerns to determine if the intrusion was reasonable”).

On the individual's side of the balance, the most relevant factor to consider is the individual's possessory interest in the seized object. Burgard, 675 F.3d at 1033. “The longer the police take to seek a warrant, the greater the infringement on the person's possessory interest will be, for the obvious reason that a longer seizure is a greater infringement on possession than a shorter one.” Id.; Mitchell, 565 F.3d at 1352 (“[T]he sooner the warrant issues, the sooner the property owner's possessory rights can be restored if the search reveals nothing incriminating.”)

On the state's side of the balance, one of the key factors to consider is the state's basis for the seizure. Burgard, 675 F.3d at 1033. The state has a stronger interest in seizures resting on probable cause than those resting on reasonable suspicion, and thus a greater delay will be tolerated in the case of probable-cause seizures. Id. The Court must also “take into account whether the police diligently pursued their investigation.” Id. (citing Place, 462 U.S. at 709, 103 S.Ct. 2637). “When police act with diligence, courts can have greater confidence that the police interest is legitimate and that the intrusion is no greater than reasonably necessary.” Burgard, 675 F.3d at 1033 (citing McArthur, 531 U.S. at 331, 121 S.Ct. 946). On the other hand, “[w]hen police neglect to seek a warrant without any good explanation for that delay, it appears that the state is indifferent to searching the item and the intrusion on an individual's possessory interest is less likely to be justifiable.” Burgard, 675 F.3d at 1033 (citations omitted).
United States v. Winn, 79 F. Supp. 3d 904, 913 (S.D. Ill. 2015)
United States v. Winn, 79 F. Supp. 3d 904, 913 (S.D. Ill. 2015)

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The Fourth Amendment prohibits general search warrants and requires that a warrant describe, with particularity, the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. U.S. Const. amend. IV. The purpose of the particularity requirement is to “protect persons against the government's indiscriminate rummaging through their property” and to “[prevent] the searching for and seizure of items that there is no probable cause to believe are either contraband or evidence of a crime” United States v. Jones, 54 F.3d 1285, 1289–90 (7th Cir.1995) (citing Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 467, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971)); United States v. Sims, 553 F.3d 580, 582 (7th Cir.2009) (citing Maryland v. Garrison, 480 U.S. 79, 84–85, 107 S.Ct. 1013, 94 L.Ed.2d 72 (1987)). “By limiting the authorization to search to the specific areas and things for which there is probable cause to search, the requirement ensures that the search will be carefully tailored to its justifications, and will not take on the character of the wide-ranging exploratory searches the Framers intended to prohibit.” Garrison, 480 U.S. at 84, 107 S.Ct. 1013; United States v. Vitek Supply Corp., 144 F.3d 476, 481 (7th Cir.1998) (“This requirement ... ensures that the scope of a search will be confined to evidence relating to a specific crime that is supported by probable cause.”)

To satisfy the particularity requirement, a warrant “must describe the objects of the search with reasonable specificity, but need not be elaborately detailed.” Vitek Supply Corp., 144 F.3d at 481. “In practice, courts have ... demanded that the executing officers be able to identify the things to be seized with reasonable certainty and that the warrant description must be as particular as circumstances permit.” Jones, 54 F.3d at 1290 (citing United States v. Brown, 832 F.2d 991, 996 (7th Cir.1987)). Accord United States v. Yusuf, 461 F.3d 374, 395 (3d Cir.2006) (“The breadth of items to be searched depends upon the particular factual context of each case and also the information available to the investigating agent that could limit the search at the time the warrant application is given to the magistrate.”) Furthermore, when the search involves digital media, the Seventh Circuit has instructed police officers “to exercise caution to ensure that warrants describe with particularity the things to be seized and that searches are narrowly tailored to uncover only those things described.” United States v. Mann, 592 F.3d 779, 786 (7th Cir.2010).

United States v. Winn, 79 F. Supp. 3d 904, 918-19 (S.D. Ill. 2015)

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“The major, overriding problem with the description of the object of the search—“any or all files”—is that the police did not have probable cause to believe that everything on the phone was evidence of the crime of public indecency.”

United States v. Winn, 79 F. Supp. 3d 904, 919 (S.D. Ill. 2015)

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I will fight this; I will appeal it.... because as I stated:

1. they didn't have probable cause
2. The warrant was a general warrant
3. material was omitted on the affidavit and warrant, which if seen by the judge the judge wouldn't have granted the warrant
4. the general warrant was quashed so the search was a warrantless search.
5. the FBI agent omitted material from the federal warrant which if seen by the judge the judge wouldn't have granted the warrant

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“ ‘[A] search conducted pursuant to a warrant that fails to conform to the particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment is unconstitutional’ ” (Groh v. Ramirez, 540 U.S. 551, 559, 124 S.Ct. 1284, 157 L.Ed.2d 1068, quoting Massachusetts v. Sheppard, 468 U.S. 981, 988 n 5, 104 S.Ct. 3424, 82 L.Ed.2d 737).