In United States v. Saelee, --- F.4th ---, No. 20-10209 (9th Cir. 2022), the Court affirmed Tony Saelee's convictions for attempted possession of Ecstasy with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to distribute Ecstasy and to possess it with intent to distribute.
After intercepting packages containing ecstacy, agents conducted a controlled delivery at Saelee's apartment. After he accepted the packages, agents arrested him and searched the apartment without a warrant. About an hour later, they obtained a warrant.
The Court affirmed the denial of Saelee's motion to suppress based on the independent source doctrine. Under that doctrine, suppression is unwarranted, even where evidence was “initially discovered during, or as a consequence of, an unlawful search,” when that evidence is “later obtained independently from activities untainted by the initial illegality.”
The Court held that, because all of the tangible and intangible evidence obtained as a result of the alleged violations was independently rediscovered or reseized when the agents executed a search warrant that was both sought and issued independently of any such violations, the district court correctly denied the motion to suppress.
The Court also rejected a host of other evidentiary challenges.
