People v. Nguyen

Police identified an IP address for an Internet account sharing child pornography online. Comcast identified the account subscriber as Reynolds at 309 South 23rd Street in San José. The police obtained a search warrant for the residence, garages, and outbuildings at the address. While searching Reynolds’ house, the police discovered Nguyen, a Mountain View police officer, was living in a separate residence behind the house. The police then searched Nguyen’s residence and found a laptop with child pornography. Based on a computer found in the main house, Reynolds’s husband was also charged with possession of child pornography. The trial court granted Nguyen’s motion to suppress. The court of appeals affirmed. The police lacked probable cause to search Nguyen’s residence. The warrant did not expressly authorize the search, and the police lacked good faith reliance on the warrant. The warrant did not mention Nguyen; the police had no reason to believe that Nguyen had access to the Reynolds Internet account. When police realized the rear structure was a separate residence, the law required them to halt their search and seek an additional warrant. View "People v. Nguyen" on Justia Law