U.S. v. Billian

In prosecution on drug and firearm offenses, Dist. Ct. did not err in denying defendant's motion to suppress evidence seized from his home pursuant to search warrant issued by state court judge. While affidavit supporting issuance of warrant contained some factual inaccuracies and stale statements from tipster, Dist. Ct. could properly find that any errors in affidavit were result of negligence, rather than intentional deceit, and that affidavit was still sufficient to support issuance of warrant even if inaccurate statements were removed. Moreover, Dist. Ct. could properly reject defendant's claim that police violated his 4th Amendment rights by searching his trash can (containing corroborative evidence of drug activity) when it credited police testimony that can had been placed on curb (so as to permit lawful search), as opposed to near defendant's garage.