Whether the 'fellow officer rule' can justify a search warrant with flawed probable cause

Questions Presented for Review Whether under the Fourth Amendment, the “fellow officer rule” (or the collective knowledge doctrine) can be utilized in justifying a search warrant where the probable cause relied on at time of issuance was flawed, i.e. bare bones, and did not contain facts or circumstances to support the affiant officer’s reliance on facts known by an unknown fellow officer. Whether under the Fourth Amendment, suppression of evidence would be proper when the basis, probable cause, for the search warrant relies on facts or circumstances known by fellow law enforcement but those facts or circumstances of knowledge are not provided to the magistrate by the affiant officer when applying for a search warrant for a private dwelling, and without the application of the “fellow officer rule” the probable cause is based on essentially a ‘bare bones’ affidavit. This Court has never directly addressed these issues. 1 Parties Involved The parties involved are identified in the style of the case. ii Related Cases e State of Florida v. Aivaras Mardosas, Case No. 372015CF001230AX, Circuit Court of the 2nd Judicial Circuit in and for Leon County, Florida. Judgment entered June 7, 2017. e Aivaras Mardosas v. State of Florida, Case No. 1D17-2537, First District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida. Opinion rendered Oct. 3, 2018. Rehearing and certification denied Nov. 13, 2018. e Aivaras Mardosas v. State of Florida, Case No. SC18-2002, Supreme Court of Florida. Discretionary review denied Mar. 26, 2019. iii