United States v. Bell

Turner persuaded Bell to help him sell several stolen firearms. Turner later cooperated with law enforcement, provided information about the sale, and aided the government in targeting Bell. Upon Bell’s arrest, an officer opened Bell’s flip phone and viewed a photograph of a firearm on the home screen in what was likely an unconstitutional search. The district court declined to suppress the evidence obtained from the phone because the government subsequently obtained valid search warrants for it. The Seventh Circuit upheld the suppression decision and rejected a speedy trial argument that was based continuances granted by the district court and the nearly two‐year delay between his indictment and trial. There was an independent source for admitting the photo and the police later obtained a valid warrant. Before the search, Turner had stated that Bell had texted him a photo of a stolen AK‐47 and provided officers with the photo. Bell did not point to any time that was improperly excluded from the speedy-trial clock. The delays were attributable primarily to the defense and Bell was not prejudiced by the continuances. View "United States v. Bell" on Justia Law