North Dakota v. Biwer

by
Bismarck Police received a call from a shipping store employee about a suspicious package defendant Mitchell Biwer dropped off to be shipped to Denver, Colorado. The employee told police "[Biwer] was explaining too much and talking too much about why the package was being sent out. And then when questioned what was in the package, he said it was an owner's manual, and the cost for shipping this owner's manual was $47 for overnight shipping." Upon inspection, police observed a cardboard mailer bulging in a way consistent with cash rather than an owner's manual. Biwer had a 2013 conviction for marijuana possession, and the package recipient had a 2010 conviction for marijuana possession with intent to deliver. Police applied for a warrant, testifying to these facts, his drug interdiction training, and his belief Colorado was a major source for marijuana in North Dakota. The magistrate granted the first search warrant for the package. Inside the package was $4,700.00 in four separate envelopes marked with initials. Between observing the package and applying for the search warrant, police conducted a trash pull at what they believed was Biwer's address, which lead to a second and third search warrant. Biwer entered a conditional guilty plea to six felonies and three misdemeanors relating to drug possession and distribution. Biwer appealed, arguing probable cause did not exist for the first and a third search warrant; he did not contest the validity of the second warrant. The North Dakota Supreme Court determined the evidence showed Biwer may have been sending cash rather than an owner's manual, but nothing more than a hunch showed he was sending illicit proceeds from the sale of drugs. Accordingly, the Court reversed judgment as to suppression of evidence relating to the contents of the package (first warrant). The Court affirmed as to the search warrant to search the residence. The case was remanded to allow Biwer to withdraw his guilty plea and for further proceedings. View "North Dakota v. Biwer" on Justia Law