People v. Sutherland

In People v. Sutherland, 223 Ill. 2d 187, 219, 860 N.E.2d 178, 204, 307 Ill. Dec. 524 (2006), the Supreme Court of Illinois explained the standard of review that applied in the death-penalty case before it, namely, that insufficient probable cause was presented to the trial court to justify the issuance of a search warrant. The supreme court described that standard of review as follows: "Affidavits must be viewed in a 'commonsense,' not a 'hypertechnical,' manner. People v. Thomas, 62 Ill. 2d 375, 380, 342 N.E.2d 383, 386 (1975), quoting United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 109, 13 L. Ed. 2d 684, 689, 85 S. Ct. 741, 746 (1965); Our function as the reviewing court is not to substitute our judgment for that of the issuing magistrate but, rather, to ensure that the magistrate had a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed. Probable cause for a search warrant exists where '"given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place."' People v. Hickey, 178 Ill. 2d 256, 285, 687 N.E.2d 910, 924, 227 Ill. Dec. 428 (1997), quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 76 L. Ed. 2d 527, 548, 103 S. Ct. 2317, 2332 (1983)." Sutherland, 223 Ill. 2d at 219, 860 N.E.2d at 204.