United States Sixth Circuit

District court's order denying defendant's motion to suppress the firearm evidence obtained during a search of his residence conducted pursuant to a state search warrant for probation violations is reversed and remanded where: 1) the district court erred in holding that the protective sweep of defendant's apartment comported with the Fourth Amendment; 2) the government failed to present its protective sweep argument under the first and less stringent Buie test; and 3) even had it been preserved, a theory that the protective sweep occurred incident to an in-house arrest and involved an area immediately adjoining the place of defendant's arrest fails on its merits.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/15/2009
• Published 12/15/2009

Judges

• Before:  BATCHELDER, Chief Judge;  GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge;  TARNOW, District Judge.

Court

• United States Sixth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Anne-Marie Moyes, Federal Public Defender's Office, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellant.  Heather G. Childs, Assistant United States Attorney, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellee.   ON BRIEF:  Anne-Marie Moyes, Mariah A. Wooten, Federal Public Defender's Office, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellant.  Kelly D. Young, Assistant United States Attorney, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellee.