Judge Yvone Gonzalez Rogers Grants Motion to Supress
A suppression motion was granted by Oakland Judge Gonzalez Rogers in United States v. Maffei. In the case, the defendant had been charged in a twenty-seven count indictment related to an alleged scheme to defraud, including charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349, mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341, wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, laundering in monetary instruments in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956, and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957.
The police asserted that they had cause to search the car Maffei was in because of the smell of marijuana coming from the car. The Court found that the mere smell of marijuana without something more was insufficient for the search.
The granting of the motion follows the hard work of Assistant Federal Public Defender Jerome Matthews and AFPD Robin Packel.
Westlaw citation: 2019 WL 5102611