United States v. Ashe

Deborah K. Chasanow

TO: Timothy J. Sullivan

Sandra Wilkinson, AUSA

Paul K. Nitze, AUSA

FROM: The Honorable Deborah K. Chasanow

I neglected to make findings on the Government's alternative argument of inevitable discovery. Officer Yelverton clearly and credibly testified that the car would have had to be impounded when it was learned that the tag was not issued to that car, and that an inventory search would have ensued prior to towing. Certainly, when the police ran the tag of the car and eventually learned that it was not issued to the car it was on, the car was going to be impounded and the contents inventoried. Thus, the evidence would inevitably have been discovered, even had there been no search based on probable cause.