McCommon v. Mississippi
Headline: Denies review of a marijuana-search case, leaving a conviction and a warrant issued after a judge ‘rubber-stamped’ police requests standing and leaving magistrate neutrality questions unresolved.
Holding: The Court refused to take the case, leaving the lower courts’ rulings that approved the warrant and allowed marijuana evidence to stand.
- Leaves the conviction and admission of marijuana evidence intact in this case.
- Permits a warrant issued after judicial 'rubber-stamping' to remain unreviewed by the Court.
- Keeps unresolved whether good-faith rules weaken magistrate independence.
Summary
Background
A man was convicted after police searched his car and found a large quantity of marijuana in the trunk. A local judge signed a search warrant that led to the discovery. At a pretrial hearing the judge admitted he issued the warrant mainly because sworn officers asked for it and because he trusted them, rather than because he independently evaluated the facts in the supporting affidavit. The trial court admitted the evidence, and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the conviction.
Reasoning
The narrow issue presented to the Supreme Court was whether the Court should review the case. The State argued that even if the judge had not acted independently, there was enough evidence to show probable cause (a reasonable basis to search), so the warrant and the evidence were valid. Justice Brennan, joined by Justice Marshall, dissented from the denial of review, saying the judge had “rubber-stamped” the police and that the Court should consider whether a detached, independent judge is required when issuing warrants.
Real world impact
Because the Court declined to take the case, the lower-court rulings allowing the search and the conviction remain in place for this defendant. The decision leaves unresolved whether magistrates who rely mainly on police requests satisfy the independence the Fourth Amendment demands. Justice Brennan warned that recent rulings creating a “good-faith” exception may reduce magistrates’ incentives to review warrant requests carefully.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Brennan would have granted review and at least considered reversing, stressing that a magistrate must be neutral and not act as a police rubber stamp to protect citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights.
Opinions in this case:
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