United States v. Grubbs
Grubbs was charged with possession of child pornography, a federal crime. At trial, he attempted to exclude the evidence seized during a search of his home, arguing that the officers did not show him the complete search warrant.
Investigating officers had asked for an anticipatory search warrant to search the home of Jeffery Grubbs. Anticipatory search warrants become operative after “triggering events” that indicate probable cause. The warrant itself did not mention what triggering events must occur before the search could be carried out, but affidavits attached to the warrant indicated that the search could begin once someone at the Grubbs household received a certain video tape and brought the tape into Grubbs’ residence. On April 19, 2002, Grubbs' wife accepted the video tape from a postman, and the police then searched the Grubbs residence. Grubbs was presented with the search warrant, but not the affidavit that mentioned the triggering events. He was then arrested for possessing child pornography.
The district court denied Grubbs' motion to exclude, reasoning that the warrant incorporated the affidavit by reference and the police officers had the affidavit with them while searching Grubbs' house. The United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the triggering events for an anticipatory warrant must be shown to the person whose property is being searched. While the triggering events could be contained in a document accompanying the warrant, they nevertheless must still be presented.
Question Presented:
Whether the 4th Amendment requires suppression of evidence when officers conduct a search under an anticipatory warrant after the warrant's triggering
condition is satisfied, but the triggering condition is not set forth either in the warrant itself or in an affidavit that is both incorporated into the warrant and shown to the person whose
property is being searched?
