Fourth Amendment Rights Without Remedies: Split Panel Holds That Delayed Warrant Was Unreasonable, But Exclusionary Rule Does Not Attach

In United States v. Smith, the Second Circuit (Katzmann, Kearse, Meyer, by designation) issued a split opinion weighing whether a month-long delay between authorities' seizure of a tablet computer and their application for a search warrant violated the Fourth Amendment.  The full panel upheld the conviction, but by different routes.  The majority opinion found a Fourth Amendment violation, but held that evidence from the tablet should not be suppressed because the delay was due to "isolated negligence," and thus the exclusionary rule did not attach.  Judge Kearse wrote separately, explaining her view that the month-long delay did not violate the Fourth Amendment, largely because the investigating officer had other demands on his time.  Speaking with one voice, the panel also rejected substantive and procedural reasonableness challenges to the 212-month child pornography sentence.  The opinion highlights the extreme difficulty in mounting suppression challenges—both