State v. Hunter

In my view, the magistrate did not have a substantial basis to conclude that probable cause existed to search Milteer’s apartment. Simply put, probable cause requires a “fair probability’; it cannot rest upon “might have been” or “could still be.”

The application for the warrant was accompanied by the affidavit of Detective Mark Smith. At the time of the application, the magistrate was given no additional information, whether written or oral.

Detective Smith’s affidavit reads, in pertinent part, as follows:

On October 27, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. Ronnie Izis Davis ... was shot and killed outside his…