State v. Hammett

GRIMM, Presiding Judge.

This case raises the issue of the sufficiency of an affidavit for a search warrant based on unsubstantiated fourth-hand hearsay and the applicability of the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule. We find, under a “totality of the circumstances analysis”, 1 that probable cause did not exist for the warrant to issue. Further, we are compelled to hold that the affidavit was “so lacking in indicia of probable cause” 2 that reliance on the search warrant was unreasonable. We reverse defendant’s convictions.

The affidavit recites that on November 13, 1987, a law…