The State of Washington, Respondent v. Suzzi Seagull, Petitioners

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress marijuana seized under a search warrant. It held that a sergeant who, while canvassing about an abandoned vehicle, walked through the impliedly open yard toward a side entrance and observed through a two-inch clear strip in a greenhouse's plastic covering what he believed was a marijuana plant made no Fourth Amendment search: his limited deviation within the open area, on legitimate business and without secretive or intrusive tactics, did not intrude upon a privacy expectation deserving of constitutional protection. The court further held that his innocent misidentification of a tomato plant as marijuana did not void the warrant, because under Franks v. Delaware only deliberate falsehood or reckless disregard for the truth invalidates an affidavit, and the affidavit itself recited sufficient underlying circumstances for the issuing judge's probable-cause determination.