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Tatumv.State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A23A0526
DecidedApril 17, 2023
Reporter367 Ga. App. 439; 886 S.E.2d 845; 2023 Ga. App. LEXIS 164; 2023 WL 2963788
JudgesDoyle, P. J., Gobeil, J., and Phipps, Senior Appellate Judge.
Tags
CriminalFourth AmendmentCell Phone SearchIndependent Source DoctrineMotion to SuppressPeeping TomInvasion of PrivacyTales From the CryptSex Crimes
Case Summary

After a 911 caller reported someone photographing or filming through an 18-year-old woman’s bedroom window, a deputy found Tatum nearby; he initially denied having a phone, then appeared nervous and tilted it away while showing its gallery. The deputy seized the phone and viewed a video of a topless woman folding laundry; a later warrant produced photos and video from the phone. After a bench trial, Tatum was convicted of peeping Tom and invasion of privacy, acquitted of evidence tampering, and sentenced to ten years, with two years and six months in custody. He argued the warrant and phone evidence were tainted by the initial warrantless viewing. The Court of Appeals assumed without deciding that the viewing was unlawful, then held the evidence admissible under the independent source doctrine because the warrant affidavit, with the video description excised, still established probable cause from Tatum’s proximity to the reported incident, initial denial, nervousness, and furtive efforts to conceal the phone’s contents. The court affirmed denial of the motion to suppress.

Opinion

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