MARCUS, Circuit Judge:
Erick Smith seeks to overturn his conviction and 420-month sentence for, inter alia, conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. On appeal, Smith principally claims that the Supreme Court's recent decision in United
Separately, Smith argues that the district court wrongfully admitted evidence of his two prior convictions for possession of cocaine, wrongfully refused to sever his felon-in-possession charge, wrongfully considered acquitted conduct at the sentencing phase, and violated the Sixth Amendment "as applied." Our precedent rejects each of these arguments. Thus, after thorough review, we affirm both the conviction and the sentence.
The relevant facts and procedural history are straightforward. Law enforcement officers drawn from federal and local agencies suspected that Smith transported cocaine from Foley, Alabama, for distribution and sale in Pensacola, Florida. During their investigation, the officers collected considerable evidence in support of their suspicions. On November 3, 2010, Special Agent Allen Davis of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) interviewed two cooperating defendants (Terrance Woods and "T.P.") at the Santa Rosa County Jail. Both of them positively identified photographs of Smith and said that Smith was the "primary source for cocaine" in the Lincoln Park area of Pensacola. Woods and T.P. also explained that Smith obtained his supply of cocaine from "Mexican males" in Foley, and both recalled that Smith "routinely" carried a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking operation. Additionally, Woods reported that he had seen Smith in possession of as much as ten kilograms of cocaine at one time. Woods also told Special Agent Davis that he and Smith twice pooled their money for drug purchases, and that Smith sometimes provided the cocaine that Woods later sold.
On November 24 and 30, 2010, Special Agent Davis interviewed Smith's co-defendant, Telly Hill, after a search of Hill's residence uncovered 58.5 grams of cocaine base, 62.2 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, and over $2,600 in cash. During those interviews, Hill positively identified a photograph of Smith and stated that Smith supplied the cocaine powder from which Hill manufactured the cocaine base found in his home. Hill also told Special Agent Davis that Smith was the primary source of cocaine for the Lincoln Park and Ensley areas of Pensacola, and that Smith obtained his supply of cocaine from "Mexican males" in Foley. Moreover, Hill said that he had known Smith for four years and had been purchasing cocaine from Smith for over a year. According to Hill, Smith sold Hill cocaine, "typical[ly]" half of a kilogram, at least once and usually twice a week. Finally, Hill noted that Smith used various vehicles in the course of his drug-trafficking operation, including a Volvo, a white Chevrolet pick-up truck, and a red Dodge Magnum.
After collecting this evidence, but without seeking a warrant, the officers installed GPS trackers on two of Smith's vehicles. Special Agent Davis installed the first device on the white Chevrolet truck on January 6, 2011, while the vehicle sat in a parking lot off a public road. Detective Matthew Coverdale of the Pensacola Police Department installed the second device on a Toyota Camry rental car on January 10, 2011, while the second vehicle was similarly parked in a lot off a public road. Until the officers learned on February 5, 2011 that Smith had discovered one of the trackers, law enforcement officers relied on the GPS devices to monitor Smith's movements in Pensacola, Biloxi, and Foley. In addition to facilitating more effective visual surveillance, the trackers also reported that Smith made several trips to a location identified by a confidential informant as a "stash house."
On April 12, 2011, the officers asked a federal magistrate judge to issue a warrant to search Smith's residence at 8101 Tippin Avenue in Pensacola. The affidavit in support of the warrant application recited all of this evidence, including the locational information from the GPS trackers regarding Smith's travels in Pensacola, Biloxi, and Foley, as well as his visits to the alleged "stash house." The warrant was granted, and the officers conducted a search of Smith's apartment on April 14, 2011. In Smith's residence, they discovered nearly ten thousand dollars in cash, an operable Sundance Industries .25 caliber handgun, a disposable cell phone with 19 recent calls to a co-defendant whom law enforcement also suspected of drug trafficking, a small quantity of marijuana, and digital media seized from Smith's computer and camera.
On May 17, 2011, a federal grand jury returned a five-count superseding indictment against Smith, Hill, and a third co-defendant, Ismael A. Rodrigues. Smith was charged with: (1) conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846; (2) using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); (3) possessing a firearm in interstate commerce as a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); and (4 and 5) two counts of money laundering.
After the indictment, Smith filed three relevant pretrial motions. First, he moved to suppress all of the evidence that was seized from his residence.
The district court denied Smith's motion to suppress for two reasons. First, the court found that the warrant affidavit established probable cause to search the residence because it articulated a fair probability that relevant evidence would be found there. The court explained that the affidavit recited (1) statements from multiple cooperating witnesses who all confirmed that Smith led a cocaine distribution operation; (2) financial documentation that corroborated the suspicion that Smith led an organization that "procur[ed] illegal funds"; and (3) information from surveillance operations that tied Smith to suspected "stash houses" and known drug offenders. The court also noted that the issuing judge was justified in considering Smith's criminal history. Finally, the trial court concluded that the officers had shown a sufficient "nexus" to support a finding of probable cause. The court offered four reasons: Smith listed the apartment as his residence in the Florida Driver and Vehicle Database; Smith's suspected crimes took place in close proximity to his residence; known drug offenders frequented the residence; and the officers saw Smith traveling between the residence and the suspected "stash houses." Thus, considering the "totality of these circumstances," the district court concluded that there was a fair probability that Smith stored drugs or proceeds from drug transactions at his residence.
Alternatively, under United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 922, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984), the district court determined that the officers' reasonable reliance on the warrant would render the evidence admissible even if the warrant were not actually supported by probable cause. According to the court, the record "provide[d] no basis for concluding" that the officers did anything but reasonably rely on the search warrant in executing the search.
Apart from his motion to suppress, Smith's appeal also implicates his pretrial motion to exclude evidence of his criminal history and his pretrial motion to sever his felon-in-possession charge. Both motions aimed to prevent the jury from learning of Smith's past convictions for the possession of cocaine. The district court denied the first one, finding the convictions admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) as probative of intent and not unduly prejudicial. Because the jury would learn of Smith's prior convictions at trial, regardless of whether Smith's felon-in-possession charge was severed, the court then also denied Smith's second motion as moot. In any case, the court also found that severance was not appropriate because all of the counts were sufficiently related for joinder.
Smith's trial took place early in August 2011. The government introduced several pieces of evidence that had been seized from Smith's home pursuant to the warrant.
After hearing this and other evidence, the district court acquitted Smith on the money-laundering charges. As for the underlying drug charge, however, the jury found Smith guilty of conspiring to distribute or possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more, but less than five kilograms, of cocaine. The jury also convicted Smith of the felon-in-possession charge, but acquitted him of carrying a firearm in furtherance of the drug crime.
On August 18, 2011, Smith moved for judgment of acquittal and a new trial. In addition to reprising his earlier arguments, Smith's motion voiced for the first time a Fourth Amendment objection to the government's warrantless GPS surveillance. In full, Smith's objection read: "In addition to the arguments previously raised regarding the insufficiency of the Affidavit in support of said search, the Defendant, through counsel, would assert that said search was additionally illegal based upon the recent case of U.S. v. Maynard, 615 F.3d 544 (D.C.Cir.2010)." In Maynard, the D.C. Circuit held that the warrantless use of a GPS tracker constituted an unreasonable Fourth Amendment search. 615 F.3d at 555. The district court denied the motion, relying on the reasons contained in its prior orders and those stated orally during the trial. The court did not address specifically Smith's Fourth Amendment objection to the warrantless use of GPS trackers.
The district court sentenced Smith to a within-Guidelines term of imprisonment of 420 months, finding that: (1) a base offense level of 36 was appropriate under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(2), because the government had shown a drug weight of 56 kilograms by a preponderance of the evidence; (2) a two-level enhancement was appropriate under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1) because the government had established by a preponderance of the evidence that Smith possessed a firearm in connection with the drug offense; and (3) a further two-level enhancement was appropriate under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1 because Smith committed perjury. With a criminal history category of VI, Smith's applicable Guidelines range was 360 months to life.
Smith timely filed this appeal.
At the heart of Smith's case is an appeal from the denial of his motion to suppress. Notably, in challenging that denial, Smith does not reprise the arguments he made before the district court. More specifically, he does not assert that the officers failed to establish probable cause or claim an insufficient nexus between his residence and his criminal activity. On appeal, Smith's argument is limited to the singular claim that the officers violated the Fourth Amendment when they searched his home pursuant to a warrant that relied
When Smith initially moved to suppress, he did not raise a Fourth Amendment objection to the government's warrantless use of GPS trackers. Nevertheless, the government conceded at sentencing and again on appeal that Smith preserved the issue for our review. Smith did eventually raise the GPS argument before the district court — albeit in the context of a Rule 29 motion. Smith repeated his GPS objection in greater detail at the sentencing hearing, where Smith's counsel also explained why she had chosen not to raise the GPS argument in the first place. In a colloquy with the district court, defense counsel candidly explained that, at the time the officers installed the trackers in this case, she believed that warrantless GPS surveillance simply "wasn't a problem" sufficient to merit suppression under then-binding Eleventh Circuit precedent. Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(e), a district court may for good cause grant relief from a waiver of a Rule 12(b)(3) objection. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 12(e) ("A party waives any Rule 12(b)(3) defense, objection, or request not raised by the deadline the court sets under Rule 12(c) or by any extension the court provides. For good cause, the court may grant relief from the waiver."). In this case, after engaging with Smith's counsel and hearing no objection from the government, the district court sought to "make the record very clear to the Eleventh Circuit that [Smith's counsel] ha[d] at least raised the issue with [the district court] here and [the court was] passing on it." Indeed, the district court specifically asked that Mr. Smith not be punished because the GPS objection had not been properly raised. Thus, we also consider the argument preserved and proceed to address its merits.
"Because rulings on motions to suppress involve mixed questions of fact and law, we review the district court's factual findings for clear error, and its application of the law to the facts de novo." United States v. Jordan, 635 F.3d 1181, 1185 (11th Cir.2011) (quoting United States v. Bervaldi, 226 F.3d 1256, 1262 (11th Cir.2000)). We may consider any evidence that appears in the record, not only the evidence presented at the suppression hearing. Id. Finally, we will construe all facts in the light most favorable to the prevailing party — here, the government. Id.
"Exclusion is `not a personal constitutional right.'" Davis v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 131 S.Ct. 2419, 2426, 180 L.Ed.2d 285 (2011) (quoting Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 486, 96 S.Ct. 3037, 49 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1976)). Although the Fourth Amendment expressly protects "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures," the Constitution does not explain how courts ought to treat evidence seized in violation of that command. The exclusionary rule is thus "a `prudential' doctrine... created by [the Supreme] Court to `compel respect for the constitutional guaranty.'" Id. at 2426 (citations omitted). In designing the exclusionary rule, the Court did not aim "to `redress the injury' occasioned by an unconstitutional search"; rather, as the Supreme Court has "repeatedly held," the "sole purpose" of the exclusionary rule "is to deter future Fourth Amendment violations." Id. (citation omitted). "[S]uppression is not an automatic consequence of a Fourth
In light of this important limitation, the suppression of competent and probative evidence would generally not be an appropriate remedy where a Fourth Amendment violation occurred despite a law enforcement officer's exercise of good faith. See, e.g., Leon, 468 U.S. at 922, 104 S.Ct. 3405 (holding that exclusionary rule did not apply when police conducted search in "objectively reasonable reliance" on a warrant later held invalid); Illinois v. Krull, 480 U.S. 340, 349-50, 107 S.Ct. 1160, 94 L.Ed.2d 364 (1987) (applying good-faith exception to searches conducted in reasonable reliance on subsequently invalidated statutes); Arizona v. Evans, 514 U.S. 1, 14, 115 S.Ct. 1185, 131 L.Ed.2d 34 (1995) (applying good-faith exception where police reasonably relied on erroneous information concerning an arrest warrant in database maintained by judicial employees); Herring, 555 U.S. at 147-48, 129 S.Ct. 695 (applying good-faith exception where police mistakes resulted from "isolated negligence" by police employees, id. at 137, 129 S.Ct. 695, rather than from "systemic error or reckless disregard of constitutional requirements," id. at 147, 129 S.Ct. 695). As the Supreme Court has recognized, excluding evidence in these good-faith cases "deters no police conduct and imposes substantial social costs." Davis, 131 S.Ct. at 2434.
In Davis, the Supreme Court extended the good-faith exception to embrace "searches conducted in objectively reasonable reliance on binding appellate precedent." Id. at 2423-24. Suppression in such cases "would do nothing to deter police misconduct," id. at 2423, because police conduct is "not wrongful" when it is "in strict compliance with binding precedent." Id. at 2428-29. Responsible officers learn "`what is required of them' under Fourth Amendment precedent" and take care to "conform their conduct to these rules." Id. at 2429 (quoting Hudson v. Michigan, 547 U.S. 586, 599, 126 S.Ct. 2159, 165 L.Ed.2d 56 (2006)). When binding precedent "specifically authorizes a particular police practice," moreover, officers "will and should use that tool to fulfill" their public duties. Id. Indeed, applying the exclusionary rule in the face of such good-faith reliance would only deter "conscientious police work." Id. Thus, even when a higher court subsequently overrules the precedent at issue in a given case, courts ought not to penalize the officer for the appellate court's error. Id. at 2429. "`[P]unish[ing] the errors of judges' is not the office of the exclusionary rule," and when the police act in reasonable reliance on then-binding appellate precedent, the error of judges is the only constitutional mistake. Id. at 2428 (second alteration in original) (quoting Leon, 468 U.S. at 916, 104 S.Ct. 3405).
In asking us to reverse the denial of his motion to suppress, Smith invokes United States v. Jones, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 945, 949, 181 L.Ed.2d 911 (2012), which held — after the events at issue in this case — that for Fourth Amendment purposes officers conducted a "search" when they installed a GPS tracker on a suspect's vehicle. Although the Court concluded that such GPS searches implicate the Fourth Amendment, it had "no occasion to consider" whether a warrantless GPS search might ever be reasonable. 132 S.Ct. at 954. In asserting that the warrantless
The officers here undeniably relied on the same kind of then-binding, but subsequently overruled, appellate precedent that was at issue in Davis. When law enforcement officers attached the trackers in this case, in January 2011, our precedent specifically authorized officers to install "an electronic tracking device" on a suspect's vehicle upon a showing of reasonable suspicion. United States v. Michael, 645 F.2d 252, 254 (5th Cir.1981) (en banc).
In United States v. Knotts, 460 U.S. 276, 281, 103 S.Ct. 1081, 75 L.Ed.2d 55 (1983), decided shortly after Michael, the Supreme Court held that "[a] person traveling in an automobile on public thoroughfares has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his movements from one place to another." Knotts therefore reached the same conclusion that the former Fifth Circuit did in Michael: that the use of a beeper to track a suspect's movements on public roads involved "neither a `search' nor a `seizure' within the contemplation of the Fourth Amendment." Id. at 285, 103 S.Ct. 1081. Because the beeper at issue in Knotts had been concealed inside of a container that was later loaded onto the suspect's vehicle, however, Knotts had no occasion to consider for Fourth Amendment purposes the trespass involved in installing an electronic tracking device directly. Consequently, Knotts left undisturbed the holding in Michael that that "slight physical intrusion" was "insignificant" for Fourth Amendment purposes. 645 F.2d at 258 n. 14.
After the GPS searches at issue in this case, Jones distinguished Knotts and rejected much of the Fourth Amendment analysis contained in Michael. In Jones, the Supreme Court held that "the Government's installation of a GPS device on a target's vehicle, and its use of that device to monitor a vehicle's movements, constitutes a `search'" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. 132 S.Ct. at 949 (footnote omitted). Contrary to the former Fifth Circuit's analysis in Michael, the Supreme Court explained that "the Katz [v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967)] reasonable-expectation-of-privacy test has been added to, not substituted for, the common-law trespassory test." Id. at 952. In installing the GPS device on Jones's vehicle, the government conducted a search because it "physically occupied private property for the purpose of obtaining information." Id. at 949.
Nevertheless, even if Jones would have rendered the warrantless searches in this case unreasonable, the officers' good-faith reliance upon Michael renders exclusion inappropriate here. At the time of the GPS searches, Michael was binding precedent that clearly dictated the constitutionality of warrantless GPS surveillance. In 1981, an en banc panel of the former Fifth Circuit held that reasonable suspicion was the appropriate standard against which to measure the warrantless installation of an electronic tracking device on a suspect's vehicle. Michael, 645 F.2d at 257. A GPS tracker is an "electronic tracking device," and at the time the officers installed the trackers on Smith's vehicles, they had at least reasonable suspicion to believe Smith was engaged in criminal activity. In fact, Smith does not dispute on appeal that the officers had reasonable suspicion. But even if he had disputed that determination, the incriminating statements from Woods, T.P., and Hill, together with the discrepancy between the value of Smith's vehicles and his declared income, provided "specific and articulable facts, together with rational inferences from those facts," that were sufficient "reasonably [to] warrant[] the agents in the belief" that Smith was involved in drug trafficking. Id. at 257.
Nevertheless, Smith asks us to distinguish Michael. He points specifically to our insistence that, because the "justifications for the good-faith exception do not extend to situations in which police officers have interpreted ambiguous precedent," our precedent on a given point "must be unequivocal before we will suspend the exclusionary rule's operation." United States v. Davis, 598 F.3d 1259, 1266-67 (11th Cir.2010), aff'd Davis, 131 S.Ct. 2419. Inasmuch as Michael involved a beeper, not a GPS tracking device, Smith submits that Michael did not "clearly dictate[] the constitutionality" of a GPS search supported
We think Smith asks us to draw too fine a distinction. Because a GPS device is an "electronic tracking device," the officers in this case "followed the Eleventh Circuit's... precedent to the letter" when they installed the trackers on Smith's vehicles with reasonable suspicion. Davis, 131 S.Ct. at 2428. In fact, rather than limiting the analysis to beepers, every opinion in Michael referred to electronic surveillance in general terms. The majority opinion never discussed the precise technological capabilities of beepers, and in fact the very first sentence of the opinion characterized the beeper as an "electronic tracking device" before parenthetically identifying it as a beeper. 645 F.2d at 254. The special concurrence and both dissents similarly described the beeper in general terms. See id. at 259 (Clark, J., specially concurring) ("I also concur in [the majority's] holding that no invasion of constitutionally protected privacy occurred when police with the degree of reasonable suspicion present here attached an electronic tracking device to [defendants'] van.") (emphasis added); id. at 260 (Tate, J., dissenting) (faulting the majority for permitting "a trespass that enables [officers] to maintain continuous electronic surveillance over [the defendant's] movements") (emphasis added); id. at 271 (Godbold, J., dissenting) ("The officers, by attaching the electronic device, made the van into a mechanism for reporting to the government its own location and necessarily the location of persons occupying it.") (emphasis added).
To the extent that beepers and GPS devices employ distinct technologies and collect different quantities of locational data, nothing in Michael required the officers to consider the quality or quantity of information collected by a tracking device.
On those facts, Michael's Fourth Amendment analysis distilled to three points. First, the trespassory aspect of installation was not dispositive — and, in any event, installing a tracking device on the exterior of a vehicle in a public place "was much less intrusive than the typical stop and frisk." 645 F.2d at 258. Second, because the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in his vehicle's movements on public roads, the warrantless installation of a device to track those movements did not trigger any Fourth Amendment concerns. Id. at 257-58. And, third, the government's interest in eliminating illegal drug manufacture was a
In reaching this conclusion, we are supported by the Fifth Circuit's identical holding in its own post-Jones opinion construing Michael. In United States v. Andres, 703 F.3d 828, 835 (5th Cir.2013), the Fifth Circuit held that "[d]espite any possible technological differences between a 1981 `beeper' and the GPS device used in this case, the functionality is sufficiently similar that the agents' reliance on Michael to install a GPS device on [defendant's] truck, in light of the reasonable suspicion of drug trafficking, was objectively reasonable." We think that holding is plainly correct; indeed, we previously reached the same conclusion in one of our own unpublished opinions. See United States v. Smith, 387 Fed.Appx. 918, 920-21 (11th Cir.2010) ("In United States v. Michael, we held that the placement of an electronic tracking device on the exterior of the defendant's vehicle when it was parked in a public parking lot did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights. Smith's argument that the installation of the GPS device violated his Fourth Amendment rights fails because the Escalade was parked in a place easily accessible to the public and was reachable from a public thoroughfare. Smith had no reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to the exterior of the vehicle.") (citations omitted). These decisions do not constitute binding precedent, but they provide persuasive authority to support our conclusion that Michael unambiguously authorized the GPS searches at issue in this case.
Moreover, in addition to the Fifth Circuit in Andres, at least two other circuits have also applied the Davis good-faith exception where officers conducted warrantless GPS searches in reliance upon then-binding beeper precedent. See United States v. Sparks, 711 F.3d 58, 64-66 (1st Cir.2013) (recognizing that the Davis good-faith exception only applies where then-binding precedent was "clear and well-settled," id. at 64, but nevertheless applying the exception where officers conducted warrantless GPS searches in reliance upon then-binding beeper cases establishing that "using a beeper to monitor a person's movements in a car on public roads did not implicate the Fourth Amendment," and that "the trespass involved in attaching a beeper to a car was, by itself, so insignificant as to be essentially irrelevant for Fourth Amendment purposes," id. at 65); United States v. Pineda-Moreno, 688 F.3d 1087, 1090 (9th Cir.2012) (applying the Davis good-faith exception where officers conducted warrantless GPS searches in reliance upon then-binding beeper cases establishing that "placing an electronic tracking device on the undercarriage of a car was neither a search nor a seizure under the Fourth Amendment," and that
Finally, we note a wealth of persuasive authority suggesting that, before Jones, courts actually did recognize Michael as binding in the GPS context. Indeed, within this Circuit, by our count, every district court that has considered the question ultimately concluded that Michael clearly established the constitutionality of GPS searches supported only by reasonable suspicion. See United States v. Dooley, No. 1:11-CR-255-3-TWT, 2013 WL 2548969, at *2 (N.D.Ga. June 10, 2013) (citing Michael) ("Detective Duncan installed the GPS tracker on the Impala on March 15, 2011, before the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Jones. Prior to Jones, the Eleventh Circuit had held that a warrant was not required to install an electronic tracking device on the exterior of a vehicle parked in a public place....") (citation omitted); United States v. Figueroa-Cruz, 914 F.Supp.2d 1250, 1269 (N.D.Ala.2012) (citing Michael) ("There is no question that as of September 20th, 2011 binding Eleventh Circuit precedent clearly established that the attachment of a `beeper' tracking device to monitor the movement of a defendant's vehicle violated no constitutional right."); United States v. Lewis, No. 12-60011-CR, 2012 WL 4838889, at *2 n. 1 (S.D.Fla. Oct. 10, 2012) (citing Michael) ("Prior to Jones, GPS tracking devices were treated as beepers in the Eleventh Circuit."); United States v. Nelson, No. CR612-005, 2012 WL 3052914, at *3 (S.D.Ga. July 25, 2012) (citing Michael) ("The record in this case establishes that when [an officer] installed the GPS device on [defendant's] vehicle he relied upon established FBI policy that conformed with binding Eleventh Circuit precedent."), report and recommendation adopted, No. CR612-005, 2012 WL 3835826 (S.D.Ga. Sept. 4, 2012); United States v. Rosas-Illescas, 872 F.Supp.2d 1320, 1327 (N.D.Ala.2012) (citing Michael) ("The good-faith exception applies here because at the time [an officer] used the GPS tracking device, binding Eleventh Circuit law allowed the use of such devices without a warrant."); United States v. Burton, 698 F.Supp.2d 1303, 1307 (N.D.Fla.2010) (citing Michael) ("It is clear that the Defendant's request for operation of the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule because of law enforcement's use of a GPS tracking device on the Defendant's vehicle to trace the Defendant's movements must be denied."). Just as in Davis, the issue here was not "unsettled" in this Circuit. 131 S.Ct. at 2435 (Sotomayor, J., concurring in the judgment). Instead, this constellation of decisions is altogether consistent with our conclusion that Michael established the constitutionality of warrantless GPS surveillance at the time the officers installed the trackers.
Thus, when law enforcement officers act "with an objectively `reasonable good-faith belief' that their conduct is lawful, ... the `deterrence rationale loses much of its force,' and exclusion cannot `pay its way.'" Davis, 131 S.Ct. at 2427-28 (quoting Leon, 468 U.S. at 908 n. 6, 909, 919 (1984)). "Police practices trigger the harsh sanction of exclusion only when they are deliberate enough to yield `meaningfu[l]' deterrence, and culpable enough to be `worth the price paid by the justice system.'" Id. at 2428 (alteration in original) (quoting Herring, 555 U.S. at 144, 129 S.Ct. 695). This is not a case of "deliberate," "reckless," "grossly negligent," or even negligent disregard for Fourth Amendment rights. Id. at 2427 (quoting Herring, 555 U.S. at 144, 129 S.Ct. 695); see, e.g., Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383, 34 S.Ct. 341,
By contrast, the officers' conduct in this case "was in strict compliance with then-binding Circuit law and was not culpable in any way." Davis, 131 S.Ct. at 2428. Here, where Michael specifically authorized officers to install an electronic tracking device once they developed reasonable suspicion, we cannot discern "appreciable deterrence" that would justify excluding the competent and probative evidence seized from Smith's home. Id. at 2426 (quoting United States v. Janis, 428 U.S. 433, 454, 96 S.Ct. 3021, 49 L.Ed.2d 1046 (1976)). The officers in this case were not mistaken in relying upon Michael as binding precedent; rather, they reasonably relied upon precedent that was, itself, mistaken on the constitutional question. But, again, "`punish[ing] the errors of judges' is not the office of the exclusionary rule." Id. at 2429 (quoting Leon, 468 U.S. at 916, 104 S.Ct. 3405). And "about all that exclusion would deter" in this case "is conscientious police work." Id. The good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule therefore fairly applies, and Smith's motion to suppress was properly denied.
Apart from seeking reversal of the denial of his suppression motion, Smith also asks us to find that the district court committed a number of other errors in the course of the proceedings. We conclude that the court committed no such errors and accordingly affirm on each issue.
First, Smith cites as error the district court's denial of his motion to exclude evidence of his two prior convictions for the possession of cocaine. He asserts that evidence of those convictions was unduly prejudicial and not probative of a material issue other than character, since the convictions occurred six and ten years before the charged offense, and since the prior convictions were for possession of — not distribution of or possession with intent to distribute — cocaine. Each of these arguments fails.
Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) empowers courts to admit evidence of a defendant's other crimes when that evidence is used to prove, inter alia, the defendant's intent to commit the crime at issue. Rule 404(b) is a rule of inclusion, and "404(b) evidence, like other relevant evidence, should not lightly be excluded when it is central to the prosecution's case." United States v. Jernigan, 341 F.3d 1273, 1280 (11th Cir.2003) (quoting United States v. Perez-Tosta, 36 F.3d 1552, 1562 (11th Cir.1994)). There is "[a]mple precedent ... in this circuit finding that a not guilty plea in a drug conspiracy case ... makes intent a material issue and opens the door to admission of prior drug-related offenses as highly probative, and not overly prejudicial, evidence of a defendant's intent." United States v. Calderon, 127 F.3d 1314, 1332 (11th Cir.1997). This may be true even where the prior conviction is many years old. See United States v. Lampley, 68 F.3d 1296, 1300 (11th Cir.1995) (finding admissible evidence
Our precedent similarly contradicts Smith's argument that evidence of his earlier possession convictions ought not to have been admitted as probative of his later intent to distribute. This Court has specifically rejected that argument. See United States v. Butler, 102 F.3d 1191, 1196 (11th Cir.1997) ("[T]he logical extension of our current jurisprudence is to admit evidence of prior personal drug use to prove intent in a subsequent prosecution for distribution of narcotics."). Prior convictions may be probative of intent where, as here, the prior conviction was for possession of the same drug involved in the instant conspiracy. See United States v. Green, 40 F.3d 1167, 1174 (11th Cir. 1994) ("The challenged similar act [possession of cocaine] involved the same mental state as the charged crime [possession with intent to distribute cocaine] because both incidents involved possession of the same illicit drug, cocaine."). Thus, we have little difficulty in concluding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Smith's motion to exclude evidence of his two prior convictions.
Smith also appeals from the denial of his motion to sever his felon-in-possession charge. Smith concedes, however, that if the district court did not err in denying his motion to exclude the evidence of his prior convictions, it did not err in denying his motion to sever. See United States v. Gabay, 923 F.2d 1536, 1540 (11th Cir.1991) ("Unfair prejudice does not result when two offenses are joined if evidence admissible to prove each offense is also admissible to prove the other offense."). Because we find that the court did not err in admitting the evidence of Smith's prior convictions, we also necessarily find that the court properly denied Smith's motion to sever the felon-in-possession charge.
Smith's two remaining challenges concern the district court's conduct at the sentencing hearing. First, Smith claims that the court erred in considering acquitted conduct when it calculated and imposed his 420-month sentence. Smith also argues that his sentence violated the Sixth Amendment "as applied." Again, our precedent disposes of both of these arguments.
First, Smith says that the district court impermissibly imposed a sentence calculated in partial reliance upon acquitted conduct. It is true that Smith's sentence was premised partially on facts that the jury did not find beyond a reasonable doubt, such as the applicable drug weight of fifty-six kilograms and Smith's use of a firearm in furtherance of the drug crime. But in United States v. Watts, 519 U.S. 148, 157, 117 S.Ct. 633, 136 L.Ed.2d 554 (1997), the Supreme Court held that a "verdict of acquittal does not prevent the sentencing court from considering conduct underlying the acquitted charge, so long as that conduct has been proved by a preponderance of the evidence." Smith does not argue that the government failed to establish sentencing facts by a preponderance of the evidence; rather, he says that Watts is no longer good law in light of the Supreme
Second, Smith claims that the district court violated the Sixth Amendment "as applied." This Court has never entertained an as-applied Sixth Amendment challenge.
Accordingly, we affirm both his conviction and the ensuing sentence.