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People v. Pressey10/16/2002
larized suspicions of an experienced narcotics officer, or the circumstances of an arrest for drug possession, only that illegal drug use does not necessarily provide probable cause to search the user's residence, and that such cases must be decided on their own facts. (See Illinois v. Gates, supra, 462 U.S. at p. 238 [reaffirming "the totality-of-the-circumstances analysis that traditionally has informed probable-cause determinations"].)
B. Good Faith
The question remains whether denial of the motion to suppress must be upheld under the "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule applicable where a search has been conducted "in objectively reasonable reliance on a subsequently invalidated search warrant." (United States v. Leon (1984) 468 U.S. 897, 922.) Appellant contends that the affidavit in this case was " `so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official belief in its existence entirely unreasonable.' " (Id. at p. 923.) The question is whether "a well trained officer should reasonably have known that the affidavit failed to establish probable cause (and hence that he should not have sought a warrant)." (People v. Camarella, supra, 54 Cal.3d at p. 596.) An officer applying for a warrant must exercise reasonable professional judgment and have a reasonable knowledge of what the law prohibits. (Id. at p. 604; United States v. Leon, supra, at p. 920, fn. 20.) If the officer "reasonably could have believed that the affidavit presented a close or debatable question on the issue of probable cause," the seized evidence need not be suppressed. (People v. Camarella, supra, at p. 606; compare People v. Romero (1996) 43 Cal.App.4th 440, 447, with People v. Hernandez (1994) 30 Cal.App.4th 919, 924.)
In view of the "numerous cases [holding that] if there was probable cause to believe the defendant was dealing drugs there was probable cause to believe drugs or other evidence of such criminal activity would be found in defendant's residence" (People v. Tuadles, supra, 7 Cal.App.4th at p. 1788-1789 (conc. opn. of Johnson, J.), it was probably just a matter of time before a similar claim was made with respect to drug users. Relatively few cases, and none from California, have considered whether the inference of contraband in the residence that has been drawn against drug traffickers can also be drawn against drug users. The inferences are arguably analogous. Given the dearth of authority directly on point and the existence of potentially supportive precedent, the issue of probable cause was "debatable" when the warrant herein was sought, even though the issue, upon examination, is not a particularly close one. Therefore, the officer could reasonably rely on the magistrate's finding of probable cause, and suppression of the fruits of the search is not required. (People v. Camarella, supra, 54 Cal.3d at p. 606; U.S. v. Hyppolite (4th Cir. 1995) 65 F.3d 1151, 1158 [because "the law was unclear . . . an objectively reasonable officer could have relied on the magistrate's determination of probable cause"]; U.S. v. McGrew (9th Cir. 1997) 122 F.3d 847, 850, fn. 5 [no good faith where the law had been "clear . . . for over a decade, foreclosing any `reasonable belief' to the contrary"].) However, future warrant applications will have to account for our decision in this case.
III. DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
We concur:
Reardon, J.
Rivera, J.
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