United States v. Steven Pond and David Fanelli

OAKES, Circuit Judge:

This appeal presents two questions— first, whether an unidentified but reliable informant’s detection of marijuana using his sense of smell alone may provide probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant; second, whether the warrant issued in this case is valid despite a negligent misrepresentation by the officer in the underlying affidavit. The officer mistakenly had stated to the issuing magistrate that the informant had noted the unusual weight of the odiferous baggage in arriving at his conclusion that it contained the forbidden herb. We answer these questions…