Summary
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Andrew Porter’s motion to suppress methamphetamine and other evidence found in a backpack during execution of a premises search warrant. The court held that searching an item capable of containing the objects identified in the warrant, when the item was not in the physical possession of a person, fell within the warrant’s scope and did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The opinion also addresses the corresponding claim under article I, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether officers executing a premises search warrant may search a backpack on the premises that is capable of containing evidence identified in the warrant but is not in the physical possession of a person.
- Whether the search of Porter's backpack violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- Whether the search violated article I, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution.
- Whether Porter's disclaimers of ownership or knowledge constituted abandonment of the backpack.
Holdings
- During execution of a premises search warrant, officers may search an item capable of containing the objects of the search when the item is on the premises and not in the physical possession of a person; the search falls within the scope of the warrant.
- The exception recognized in Ybarra v. Illinois, which requires particularized probable cause to search a mere visitor, extends to items held, worn, or carried by that visitor, but does not extend to an item located on the premises and not in the visitor's physical possession.
- The search of Porter's backpack did not violate the Fourth Amendment.
- The search of the backpack did not violate article I, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution.
Key quotations
“For the reasons set forth above, we hold that during the execution of a premises search warrant, the search of an item capable of containing the objects of the search and not in the physical possession of a person is within the scope of the warrant and that such search is not prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.” (16)
“When a person holds, wears, or carries an item, a search of that item is functionally a search of the person.” (12)
“The backpack was not attached to or in the physical possession of a person at the time it was searched and thus was encompassed within the scope of the warrant.” (22)
Factual background
Officers developed probable cause to believe methamphetamine and other controlled substances were being distributed from a residence at 3601 Woodland Avenue and obtained a premises warrant. Before officers executed the warrant, Porter arrived carrying a blue backpack and entered the house; officers later found the backpack in a corner of the living room, outside Porter's immediate reach. Porter repeatedly denied ownership or knowledge of the backpack, which officers searched pursuant to the premises warrant and which contained approximately seventy-eight grams of methamphetamine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.
Procedural history
Law enforcement obtained a warrant to search a Des Moines residence for evidence of controlled-substance use and distribution. During execution of the warrant, officers searched a backpack Porter had brought into the residence and found drugs and paraphernalia. The district court denied Porter's suppression motion, and the Supreme Court of Iowa granted discretionary review and affirmed.