Background
After serving a Florida sentence for a felony drug offense, Terrance Louis entered the state’s conditional-release program. His release certificate required him to submit to reasonable searches by his supervisor and stated that he would remain on conditional release until its expiration or a Commission order. Shortly before the scheduled expiration date, Louis tested positive for cocaine, and the Florida Commission on Offender Review issued a no-bond warrant for his arrest.
While executing the warrant, Louis’s supervisor searched his residence and found suspected marijuana and a firearm. Police then obtained a search warrant and recovered the contraband. Louis unsuccessfully moved to suppress the evidence and later pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon. Although he specifically objected that the government had not proved his alleged predicate convictions, the district court applied the Armed Career Criminal Act and imposed its 15-year mandatory minimum.
The Court’s Holding
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of Louis’s suppression motion. The district court did not clearly err in finding that Louis remained on conditional release when the search occurred: neither his arrest nor the issuance of the warrant ended that status. Because Louis was subject to an express search condition and had a diminished expectation of privacy, reasonable suspicion was sufficient for this search.
The supervisor had reasonable suspicion based on Louis’s laboratory-confirmed positive cocaine test, his refusal to answer the door, and his failure to return calls after confirming that he was home. But the district court erred in applying ACCA after Louis disputed the existence of the asserted predicate convictions and the government offered no evidence beyond the contested presentence report. The court vacated the sentence and remanded with instructions to resentence Louis without the ACCA enhancement, declining to give the government another opportunity to prove the convictions.
Key Takeaways
- A Florida conditional releasee does not leave conditional-release status merely because the Commission issues an arrest warrant for an alleged violation.
- Reasonable suspicion supported the warrantless residential search of a conditional releasee who had expressly accepted a reasonable-search condition.
- Once Louis factually disputed his alleged ACCA predicates, the government had to prove the convictions and could not rely solely on the contested presentence report.
Why It Matters
The decision addresses for the first time in the Eleventh Circuit the Fourth Amendment standard applicable to a Florida conditional releasee subject to a search condition, holding that reasonable suspicion sufficed on the facts presented while leaving open whether an even lower standard could apply.
It also reinforces the prosecution’s evidentiary burden at sentencing. When a defendant properly disputes the fact of prior convictions supporting ACCA, the district court must require proof rather than treat the presentence report as evidence, and the government ordinarily will not receive a second opportunity on remand after failing to present available evidence.