American Samoa Government v. Whitney
American Samoa Government v. Whitney
Opinion of the Court
Defendant has moved for an order returning items seized pursuant to a search warrant and suppressing the use of such items against him. He argues, inter alia, that the warrant was defective because it does not describe the premises to be searched or the items to be seized with the particularity required by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution; Art. I, § 5 of the Revised Constitution of American Samoa; and T.C.R.Cr.P. 41. We agree.
Most circuits have held that a search warrant may sometimes be construed along with its supporting affidavit to satisfy the particularity requirement, U.S. v. Maxwell. 920 F.2d 1028, 1031 (D.C.Cir. 1990), but differ as to what circumstances are needed to construe the warrant with reference to the affidavit. The Ninth Circuit allows an affidavit to supply the particularity lacking in a warrant only if it accompanies the warrant and the warrant uses suitable words of reference which incorporate the affidavit. United States v. Hillyard, 677 F.2d 1336, 1340 (9th Cir. 1982); United States v. Spilotro. 800 F.2d 959, 967 (9th Cir. 1986); United States v. Luk, 859 F.2d 667, 675 (9th Cir. 1988); Center Art Galleries-Hawaii, Inc. v. United States. 875 F.2d 747, 750 (9th Cir. 1989); and United States v. Stubbs, 873 F.2d 210, 212 (9th Cir. 1989). Other circuits have applied the criteria of attachment and incorporation-by-reference less rigidly. See U.S. v. Luk, 859 F.2d at 676 n.8 and cases cited therein; U.S. v. Maxwell, 920 F.2d at 1032 n.2 and cases cited therein.
The warrant herein does not expressly incorporate the underlying affidavit; under the Ninth Circuit test it stands alone and does not have the particularity required by the Fourth Amendment. However, we need not decide here under what circumstances a warrant in American Samoa can be construed to be in reference to a supporting affidavit - both the warrant and affidavit in question are so overbroad and unparticularized as to what may be seized that the warrant would be deficient even if construed in reference to the affidavit.
The warrant authorized the executing agents to seize:
[¶ 1] books, magazines, booklets, receipts, pictures, photographs, medicines, narcotics or narcotics paraphernalia*14 and automobiles;
[¶ 2] Said properties are possessed in violation of the laws of American Samoa and constitute evidence of commission of criminal offenses, in violation of §§ 46.3611 [sodomy], 46.3612 [deviate sexual assault], 46.3615 [first degree sexual abuse], 46.4402 [first degree promoting pornography], 46.4613 [false impersonation], 13.1020 [dispensing controlled substance], 13.1022 [possession of controlled substance] A.S.C.A.
The supporting affidavit of the investigating officer used the identical language of ¶ 1, but instead of ¶ 2 noted that these items "is/are property that constitutes evidence of a criminal offense and/or contraband, the fruits of a crime, or otherwise criminally possessed; and/or property designed or intended for use or which is or has been used as the means of committing a criminal offense." As grounds for his belief that these items were at the places named in the affidavit, the officer said that the complaining minor had told him that, following the alleged criminal acts, the minor had seen a medicine cabinet "full of medicines," video tapes and a box of "pornographic magazines" in defendant’s bedroom; and that another juvenile had also said that defendant had shown her "pornographic movies" that he took from his bedroom.
Even if we assumed that the warrant and/or affidavit showed probable cause that the cited statutes had been violated and demonstrated a sufficient nexus between the items to be seized and the alleged crimes, the wording of both documents falls far short of the particularity required to meet constitutional standards and is unconstitutionally overbroad. A description in a warrant must be specific enough to enable the person conducting the search reasonably to identify the things authorized to be seized. United States v. Spilotro, 800 F.2d at 963. The warrant does not even purport to limit the discretion of the executing officers except by reference to the statutes cited. Although a warrant’s reference to a particular statute may in certain circumstances limit the scope sufficiently to satisfy the particularity requirements of the Fourth Amendment, U.S. v. Maxwell, 920 F.2d at 1033, we hold that it does not do so here, since warrants reciting generic categories and criminal statutes, without more,
Nor does the affidavit provide more guidance, since it does not specify the items to be seized. In determining whether a description is sufficiently precise, courts have focused on: (1) whether probable cause exists to seize all items of a particular type described in a warrant; (2) whether the warrant sets out objective standards by which executing officers can distinguish items subject to seizure from those which are not; and (3) whether the government could have described the items more particularly in light of the information available to it at the time the warrant was issued. U.S. v. Stubbs, 873 F.2d at 211 (quoting Spilotro). If the government was (as it now argues) seeking certain items as evidence of the "means" of committing the crimes of sodomy and promotion of pornography, the alleged victims should have been able to provide the detail to enable the government to describe the items sought with the particularity required by the Fourth Amendment. As it stands, the only limitation in the warrant and affidavit on the broad categories of items to be seized is that they somehow be connected to the listed statutes and activities. Even if we construed the warrant and affidavit together to limit the seizure to "pornographic" materials used as a means of committing the alleged criminal acts, the warrant would be invalid. See 8B J. Moore, Moore’s Federal Practice ¶ 41.05 at 41-55 (2d ed. 1985) (warrant authorizing search and seizure of ‘all obscene materials’ located in particular place would impart impermissible discretion to executing officer, lack particularity, lack probable cause as to obscene nature of material subject to seizure, and infringe First Amendment rights).
The lack of particularity is especially troublesome in light of the fact that the items to be seized (books, magazines, booklets, pictures, and photographs) are presumptively protected by the First Amendment, since in such cases the particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment must be applied with "scrupulous exactitude." United States v. Hale, 784 F.2d 1465, 1468 (9th Cir. 1986) (quoting Maryland v. Macon, 472 U.S. 463, 468 (1985)). The items were purportedly seized (at least regarding
It is so ordered.
Indeed, among the items seized was an airline ticket which the government has since returned to the defendant.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.