United States v. Tanguay

Rule of Law:

When an officer applying for a search warrant possesses information that presents an obvious reason to doubt the credibility of an informant whose testimony is central to probable cause, the officer's failure to make a further inquiry may constitute a reckless disregard for the truth under the Franks doctrine.

Facts:

• The Conway police department received an e-mail from an individual, later identified as Josh Wiggin, claiming to have seen child pornography on Jonathan Tanguay's laptop during a sexual encounter.
• Sgt. Carrie Nolet, the lead investigator, learned from another officer, Sgt. Alan Broyer, that Wiggin was known as a 'police groupie,' was 'quirky' and 'troubled,' had a history of suicidal ideation, and had a prior conviction for uttering a false prescription.
• Sgt. Broyer also mentioned that Wiggin had 'a few scrapes' with the law, but Sgt. Nolet did not ask for further details.
• Had Nolet inquired further, she would have discovered Wiggin had a juvenile conviction for making a false police report, in which he claimed a sniper had shot him when he had in fact shot himself.
• During his interview with Nolet, Wiggin provided details about his long-term sexual relationship with Tanguay, which began when Tanguay was a camp counselor and Wiggin was a camper.
• Nolet applied for a search warrant based on Wiggin's statements but omitted all of the negative information she had learned about Wiggin's credibility and criminal history from Sgt. Broyer.

Procedural Posture:

• Jonathan Tanguay was charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire with possession of child pornography.
• Tanguay filed a motion to suppress the evidence, requesting an evidentiary hearing under Franks v. Delaware.
• The district court held a Franks hearing and found that the affiant, Sgt. Nolet, had recklessly omitted three clusters of known information from her warrant affidavit.
• The district court ruled that even with the omitted information included, the reformed affidavit still established probable cause.
• The district court also ruled as a matter of law that Nolet had no duty to inquire further into Wiggin's background, and therefore, her ignorance of his false report conviction could not be a reckless omission.
• The motion to suppress was denied, and a jury subsequently convicted Tanguay.
• Tanguay appealed the denial of his suppression motion to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.