State v. Shaw
State v. Shaw
Opinion of the Court
Granted. The ruling of the trial court granting respondent’s motion to suppress evidence is vacated, and this case is remanded for further proceedings.
The antagonism that the police informant, a 15 year old juvenile under arrest for possession of over 300 small bags of marijuana, may have felt towards respondent, his father and the source of his marijuana, whom the juvenile believed had sent an armed party to break into his apartment for purposes of reclaiming the stolen drugs, may explain the informant’s motivation for providing the information which formed the basis of the search warrant for respondent’s home. The informant’s desire to help himself on his own charge by currying favor with the police may also have motivated his statement to the police. Nevertheless, that the police had an articulable basis for speculating about the motives of their informant did not necessarily require them to reject the information he provided as not worthy of belief. The informant had first conferred with his mother and then gave his detailed statement in her presence, and the officers confirmed that respondent had a prior
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Louisiana v. Owen A. SHAW and Judith C. Shaw
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published