United States v. Barnes
United States v. Barnes
Opinion of the Court
ORDER AND REASONS
This is a criminal action charging Abide Home Care Services, Inc. (“Abide”)
BACKGROUND
On or about March 20, 2014, Special Agent Krista Bradford (“S.A. Bradford”) presented a search warrant affidavit to the duty magistrate judge. S.A. Bradford attested there was probable cause to believe that evidence of healthcare fraud
LEGAL STANDARD
The Fourth Amendment protects “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,”
The Court reviews a motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a warrant in two steps.
DISCUSSION
Dr. Barnes attacks the affidavit submitted in support of the search warrant on several grounds. With respect to each argument, the threshold issue is whether the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies. Under this rule, evidence obtained pursuant to a search warrant later found to be invalid will not be suppressed if officers relied on the warrant in good faith.
I. FALSE STATEMENTS OF LAW AND OMISSIONS OF FACT REGARDING MEDICARE FRAUD
Dr. Barnes contends the warrant affidavit contains false statements of law and omissions of fact, both of which adversely affected the probable cause determination for Medicare fraud. The legal analysis differs with respect to false statements of law and omissions of fact. The Court bifurcates its analysis accordingly.
A. False Statements of Law
Dr. Barnes argues the affidavit erroneously states that a physician is required to meet a Medicare beneficiary in person before certifying that beneficiary for home healthcare services. According to Dr. Barnes, the applicable Medicare regulations allow this “face-to-face” requirement to be satisfied through a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant. Had the warrant affidavit contained a correct summary of the applicable law, Dr. Barnes argues the magistrate judge would not have found probable cause that Medicare fraud had been committed. The question presented is whether the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies under these circumstances.
In United States v. Leon, the Supreme Court identified four scenarios in which the good faith exception does not apply as a matter of law.
The question before the Court in Franks was whether a criminal defendant “ever ha[s] the right ... to challenge the truthfulness of factual statements made in an affidavit supporting the warrant?”
There is an equally compelling policy argument for refusing to extend Franks. As the Supreme Court recognized over 50 years ago, “affidavits for search warrants .... are normally drafted by nonlawyers in the midst and haste of a criminal investigation.”
Even if the Court was inclined to apply Franks to the alleged misstatement of law in this case, Dr. Barnes’s argument would still fail, because he cannot satisfy the first prong of the Franks test. This prong requires the defendant to make a “substantial preliminary showing” that a false statement was made intentionally or with reckless disregard of the truth.
[T]he challenger’s attack must be more than conclusory and must be supported by more than a mere desire to cross-examine. There must be allegations of deliberate falsehood or of reckless disregard for the truth, and those allegations must be accompanied by an offer of proof. They should point out specifically the portion of the warrant affidavit that is claimed to be false; and they should be accompanied by a statement of supporting reasons. Affidavits or sworn or otherwise reliable statements*742 of witnesses should be furnished, or their absence satisfactorily explained. Allegations of negligence or innocent mistake are insufficient.29
As the foregoing makes clear, “the ‘substantial preliminary showing’ requirement is not lightly met.”
Dr. Barnes has not made this showing here. According to Dr. Barnes, the alleged false statement of law is found in Paragraphs 41 and 12(c) of the warrant affidavit.
In sum, Dr. Barnes’s Franks challenge regarding misstatements of law fails for two reasons. First, Franks does not apply to the alleged misstatements of law in S.A. Bradford’s affidavit. Second, and in the alternative, Dr. Barnes has failed to make a substantial preliminary showing that S.A. Bradford included false statements of law intentionally or with reckless disregard for the truth.
B. Omissions of Fact
Dr. Barnes also contends the warrant affidavit omits a crucial fact. Specifically, Dr. Barnes contends the affidavit should have informed the magistrate judge that he lawfully performed face-to-face visits through nurse practitioners.
Although initially limited to affirmative misstatements of fact, Franks has been extended to cover omissions of fact as well.
“Probable cause is a fluid concept — turning on the assessment of probabilities in particular factual contexts — not readily, or even usefully, reduced to a neat set of legal rules.”
The fact that Dr. Barnes lawfully performed face-to-face visits through licensed professionals is not “clearly critical” to a finding of probable cause in this case.
To the extent Dr. Barnes argues the above allegations are too “stale” to establish probable cause,
As Dr. Barnes recognizes in his motion, “[t]he Medicare billings and treatments attributable to Dr. Barnes, alleged in the Bradford Affidavit to be fraudulent, span as far back as six years,” ie., from March 31, 2008 to seven months before the challenged search.
The remaining question is whether evidence of this activity can reasonably be expected to have been preserved at Dr. Barnes’s office for an extended amount of time. The warrant application sought authority to seize several items, including patient files, billing invoices, notes from physicians, contracts between Abide and its affiliates, correspondence to and from Medicare, computer hardware, and computer files. This evidence is clearly of the type that a medical office would maintain for long periods of time.
II. OMISSIONS OF LAW AND FACT REGARDING KICKBACKS
Dr. Barnes contends the warrant affidavit contains omissions of both law and fact relative to the alleged kickbacks. Dr. Barnes argues the affidavit failed to apprise the magistrate judge of certain safe harbor provisions to the anti-kickback statute, which is an omission of law.
A. Omissions of Law
The Court has already held that Franks does not apply to affirmative misstatements of law. That reasoning applies with equal force to omissions of law. Accordingly, the Court holds that Franks does not apply to any omission of law by S.A. Bradford.
B. Omissions of Pact
Dr. Barnes’s Franks challenge with respect to omissions of fact fails at the outset. Dr. Barnes argues the omitted facts are relevant to establishing the applicability of certain safe-harbor provisions to the anti-kickback statute.
Even if the Court considered Dr. Barnes’s arguments on the merits, and if Dr. Barnes could establish the facts were omitted deliberately or with reckless disregard, and if the Court added to the affidavit the facts Dr. Barnes contends should have been there in the first place,
The Court has ruled already that the factual allegations in the warrant affidavit are not stale. More importantly, even if the allegations were stale, they were not so stale as to render good-faith reliance on the warrant entirely unreasonable.
IV. FAILURE TO ADEQUATELY DESCRIBE THE SEARCH TARGET
Dr. Barnes contends evidence should be suppressed, because the warrant affidavit fails to describe the place to be searched with sufficient particularity. The warrant identifies the search target as “3600 Prytania Street, Suite 50, New Orleans, LA.”
In Leon, the Supreme Court held the good faith exception does not apply when a warrant is “so facially deficient ... in failing to particularize the place to be searched or the things to be seized ... that the executing officers cannot reasonably presume it to be valid.”
This technical error does not preclude application of the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons previously stated, the motion is denied.
. According to the indictment, Abide’s full name is "PCAH, Inc. a/li/a Priority Care at Home d/b/a Abide Home Care Services, Inc.”
. R. Doc. 319.
. See 18 U.S.C. § 1347.
. See 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b.
. The Court previously severed Counts 23 through 26. See R. Doc. 263.
. U.S. Const, amend. IV.
. Arizona v. Evans, 514 U.S. 1, 10, 115 S.Ct. 1185, 131 L.Ed.2d 34 (1995).
. United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, 347, 94 S.Ct. 613, 38 L.Ed.2d 561 (1974).
. See United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 906, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984).
. Davis v. United States, 564 U.S. 229, 131 S.Ct. 2419, 2426-27, 180 L.Ed.2d 285 (2011) (alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Janis, 428 U.S. 433, 454, 96 S.Ct. 3021, 49 L.Ed.2d 1046 (1976)).
. See United States v. Robinson, 741 F.3d 588, 594 (5th Cir. 2014). Although the Fifth Circuit has articulated this test as the standard of review on appeal, see, e.g., United States v. Sibley, 448 F.3d 754, 757 (5th Cir. 2006), district courts use it in the first instance as well. See, e.g., United States v. Hebert, No. 09-154, 2011 WL 1103655, at *4 (E.D.La. Mar. 21, 2011); United States v. Pickens, No. 3:12-CR-356-D (01), 2013 WL 1155414, at *4 (N.D.Tex. Mar. 21, 2013).
. United States v. Massi, 761 F.3d 512, 525 (5th Cir. 2014). If the good faith exception applies, the Court does not proceed to the second step unless the case presents a "novel question of law whose resolution is necessary to guide future action by law enforcement officers and magistrates.” United States v. Mays, 466 F.3d 335, 343 (5th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted). No such novel question exists in this case.
. United States v. Pena-Rodriguez, 110 F.3d 1120, 1129 (5th Cir. 1997).
. United States v. Leon, 468 U.S 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984).
. United States v. Payne, 341 F.3d 393, 400 (5th Cir. 2003) (quoting Leon, 468 U.S. at 922 n. 23, 104 S.Ct. 3405).
. Leon, 468 U.S. at 922 n. 23, 104 S.Ct. 3405.
. 468 U.S. at 923, 104 S.Ct. 3405. The good faith exception does not apply in these scenarios, because officers would have no objectively reasonable grounds for believing the warrant was properly issued. See id. at 922-23, 104 S.Ct. 3405.
. See 438 U.S. 154, 155, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978); Mays, 466 F.3d at 343.
. Because it is unnecessary to the Court's decision, the Court makes no finding regarding whether the warrant actually contains misstatements of law, i.e., whether the warrant accurately describes the "face-to-face” requirement.
. 438 U.S. at 155, 98 S.Ct. 2674 (emphasis added).
. The Court has been similarly unable to locate a single case in support of Dr. Barnes’s position.
.See, e.g., United States v. Brown, 298 F.3d 392, 408 (5th Cir. 2002) ("[A] defendant is entitled to a Franks hearing upon making a substantial preliminary showing that a governmental official deliberately or recklessly caused facts that preclude a finding of probable cause to be omitted from a warrant affidavit _”) (emphasis added); United States v. Runyan, 290 F.3d 223, 235 (5th Cir. 2002) (“An unsupported assertion ... does not give rise to the inference that the affiant acted with reckless disregard ... particularly where the misstated or omitted facts in question are of only minor significance to the finding of probable cause.”) (emphasis added); United States v. Flowers, No. No. CRIM.A. 04-15, 2005 WL 399370, at *1 (E.D.La. Feb. 17, 2005) ("In Franks v. Delaware ... the Supreme Court held that criminal defendants have a limited right, under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, to ' challenge the truthfulness of factual statements made in an affidavit supporting a search warrant.”) (emphasis added).
. United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 108, 85 S.Ct. 741, 13 L.Ed.2d 684 (1965) (emphasis added).
. See R. Doc. 336-2, p. 5.
. An affidavit may also rely on hearsay in certain circumstances. See United States v. Laury, 985 F.2d 1293, 1312 (5th Cir. 1993).
. Cf. Leon, 468 U.S. at 921, 104 S.Ct. 3405 ("In the ordinary case, an officer cannot be expected to question the magistrate's probable-cause determination or his judgment. ...”).
. Cf. Lambrix v. Singletary, 520 U.S. 518, 532 n. 4, 117 S.Ct. 1517, 137 L.Ed.2d 771 (1997) (internal quotation marks omitted).
. See Franks, 438 U.S. at 155-156, 98 S.Ct. 2674.
. Id. at 171, 98 S.Ct. 2674.
. United States v. Cleveland, 964 F.Supp. 1073, 1077 (E.D.La. 1997).
. See R. Doc. 319-1, p. 12, 19.
. R. Doc. 319-1, p. 2.
. According to Dr. Barnes, Leann Dodson’s testimony in an unrelated case demonstrates she knew that physicians are not required to meet with beneficiaries face-to-face. See R. Doc. 319-1, p. 12-13. Even if this were true, Ms. Dodson’s testimony does not constitute an offer of proof that S.A. Bradford knew that Paragraph 49 was a misstatement of law.
. R. Doc. 336-2, p. 4.
. Furthermore, even if Dr. Barnes could satisfy the first prong of Franks, it is unclear how the Court would handle the second prong, which normally requires the Court to excise the false statements of fact from the affidavit and determine whether the remaining allegations establish probable cause. See United States v. Dickey, 102 F.3d 157, 162 (5th Cir. 1996). Because no court — as far as this Court can tell — has applied Franks to false statements of law, there is no guidance as to how the Court should proceed.
. See R. Doc. 319-1, p. 19.
. See, e.g., United States v. Martin, 615 F.2d 318, 329 (5th Cir. 1980).
. United States v. Cronan, 937 F.2d 163, 165 (5th Cir. 1991).
. Hale v. Fish, 899 F.2d 390, 400 (5th Cir. 1990).
. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 231, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983).
. See United States v. Byrd, 31 F.3d 1329, 1341 (1994).
. See Leon, 468 U.S. at 914, 104 S.Ct. 3405.
. For purposes of this opinion only, the Court assumes the omitted fact is true.
. See United States v. Froman, 355 F.3d 882, 889 (5th Cir. 2004) (“In determining whether probable cause exists without the false statements a court must make a practical, common-sense decision as to whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit [minus the alleged misstatements], there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place.”) (alteration in original) (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks omitted).
. R. Doc. 332-1, ¶ 6.
. Id. at ¶¶ 23-24.
. Id. at ¶ 25.
. Id. at ¶ 24.
. Id. at ¶ 26.
. Id. at ¶ 27.
. Id.
. Id. at ¶ 29.
. See 18 U.S.C. § 1347(a).
. See Cleveland, 964 F.Supp. at 1078 (recognizing that recklessness should only be inferred in "extreme circumstances”).
. See R. Doc. 319-1, p. 10-12.
. See United States v. McKeever, 5 F.3d 863, 866 (5th Cir. 1993).
. United States v. Rojas Alvarez, 451 F.3d 320, 332 (5th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted).
. R. Doc. 319-1, p. 10 (emphasis added).
. See R. Doc. 332-1, ¶ 25.
. See id. at ¶ 28.
. See United States v. Streetman, 207 Fed. Appx. 414, 416 (5th Cir. 2006) (recognizing that computers and "computer files are of a type that could be expected to be kept for long periods of time in the place to be searched.”); United States v. Cherna, 184 F.3d 403, 410 (5th Cir. 1999) (recognizing that "financial records typically are retained for long periods of time” at "ongoing businesses”).
.In his motion to suppress, Dr. Barnes argues the applicable safe harbor is 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)(3)(B). See R. Doc. 319-1, p. 19. In his reply memorandum, Dr. Barnes argues the applicable safe harbor is found in 42 C.F.R. § 1001.952(d). See R. Doc. 336-2, p. 5. These safe harbor provisions are discussed in great detail in a prior opinion. See generally United States v. Crinel, No. 15-61, 2015 WL 3755896 (E.D.La. June 16, 2015).
. Dr. Barnes raised this argument for the first time in his reply memorandum. “It is the practice of [the Fifth Circuit] and the district courts to refuse to consider arguments raised for the first time in reply briefs.” Gillaspy v. Dall. Indep. Sch. Dist., 278 Fed.Appx. 307, 315 (5th Cir. 2008); see also United States v. Palazzo, No. 05-266, 2013 WL 160123, at *2 n. 5 .(E.D.La. Jan. 15, 2013) ("New claims raised for the first time in a reply memorandum need not be considered by the district court.”). Because this is a criminal case, and because Dr. Barnes raises a potentially dis-positive issue] the Court will address his argument on the merits.
. See R. Doc. 340, p. 5.
. See Crinel, 2015 WL 3755896, at *2 (finding the safe-harbor provision in 42 U.S.C. § 1320a — 7b(b)(3)(B) is an affirmative defense); United States v. Norton, 17 Fed.Appx. 98, 102 (4th Cir. 2001) (finding the safe-harbor provision in 42 C.F.R. § 1001.952(d) is an affirmative defense); United States v. Davis, No. H-14-171S-12, 2014 WL 6679199, at *5 (S.D.Tex. Nov. 25, 2014) (same).
. See, e.g., United States v. Cserna, No. 96-10093, 110 F.3d 70, 1997 WL 129104 at *2 (9th Cir. 1997) (unpublished); United States v. Christie, 570 F.Supp.2d 657, 672 (D.N.J. 2008); United States v. Hazelwood, No. 1:10 CR 150, 2011 WL 2553265, at *15 (N.D.Ohio June 28, 2011); United States v. Call, No. 2:09-cr-00079-KJD-RJJ, 2009 WL 6047137, at *7 (D.Nev. Nov. 24, 2009); United States v. Mahmood, No. 07-MJ-603 (SMG), 2009 WL 1118085, at *1 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 27, 2009); United States v. McCollum, No. 8:05CR256, 2005 WL 3159662, at *6 (D.Neb. Nov. 28, 2005), ,
. As previously explained, when a defendant challenges the omission of information from a warrant affidavit, the second stage of the Franks analysis requires the court to determine whether inclusion of the omitted information would have destroyed probable cause. See Cronan, 937 F.2d at 165.
. Indeed, healthcare fraud and illegal kickbacks are governed by different statutes. See 18 U.S.C. § 1347; 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b.
. See Pena-Rodriguez, 110 F.3d at 1130-31.
. See, e.g., R. Doc. 332-1, p. 2.
. R. Doc. 319-1, p. 20.
. 468 U.S. at 923, 104 S.Ct. 3405.
. R. Doc. 332-1, p. 1.
. Id. at p. 2.
. Id. at p. 9.
. See id. at ¶¶ 5, 52, 53, 55.
. Id. at ¶¶ 44, 45.
. See United States v. Allen, 625 F.3d 830, 838 (5th Cir. 2010) ("[N]ot every deficient warrant is so deficient that an officer would lack a reasonable basis for relying on it."); United States v. Pickens, No. 3:12-CR-356-D (01), 2013 WL 1155414, at *9 (N.D.Tex. Mar. 21, 2013) ("[E]ven if the warrant violated the Fourth Amendment’s requirement to 'particularly describ[e]' the things to be seized, the good-faith exception still applies unless the executing officer could not reasonably have
. See United States v. Gordon, 901 F.2d 48, 50 (5th Cir. 1990).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Shelton BARNES
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