Good faith exception to exclusionary rule applies only when police rely in reasonable manner on mistake made by someone other than themselves

SEARCH & SEIZURE United States v. Cos, No. 06-2187, ___ F.3d ___ (10th Cir. Aug. 21, 2007)(New Mexico). Government appeal of district court’s grant of defendant’s motion to suppress evidence. HELD: District court properly refused to apply good-faith exception to exclusionary rule where officers with arrest warrant entered defendant’s apartment and conducted search based on mistaken belief that woman who opened door and consented to search had authority to consent. Good faith exception to exclusionary rule applies only when police officers rely in objectively reasonable manner on mistake made by someone other than officers. Where officers’ entry into defendant’s apartment was based on neither facially valid search warrant nor on mistake made by someone other than officers, good faith exception to exclusionary rule does not apply. Read the opinion here.