State v. Rodriguez Lopez
The Second DCA reversed an order suppressing marijuana grow evidence seized from Rodriguez Lopez's house, holding that the totality of circumstances in the warrant affidavit—including sealed windows, security cameras, high electricity usage, and recorded conversations with a suspected drug supplier—provided a substantial basis for probable cause. The court also held that even assuming probable cause was lacking, the good faith exception applied because the affidavit was not so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official reliance on it unreasonable.
Key facts
- Rodriguez Lopez was charged with marijuana cultivation after police executed a search warrant at his house and seized evidence of a grow operation.
- The trial court suppressed the seized evidence, finding the warrant affidavit lacked probable cause; the affidavit relied on sealed windows, security cameras, high electricity usage, and recorded conversations between Rodriguez Lopez and a suspected drug supplier.
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Why it matters
This opinion is significant because the Second DCA expressly walks back and clarifies potentially misleading language from its own 20-year-old precedent, Garcia v. State, which several trial courts and litigants had… — full analysis with a trial
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