The three-judge panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach said in a 23-page decision that “trial courts are not wrong” in suppressing the use of video that Kraft shows in a massage parlor.
“The type of oversight legislation used in these cases is extreme,” the appellate court’s ruling said. “While there will be situations that may warn against the use of the techniques in question, the strict fourth amendment measures that have been developed over the past few decades must be observed. If they are not, any evidence that was declared to be very definite as a matter of state law. ”
The office of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is reviewing the ruling, according to spokeswoman Lauren Schenone Cassedy.
Kraft’s lawyers questioned the validity of the search, allowing authorities to install hidden cameras in the spa, saying it violated its Fourth Amendment and Florida law. A Palm Beach County judge agreed in May 2019 and decided to suppress the video, effectively closing the criminal case against him.
His lawyers argued that law enforcement did not do enough to minimize the scope of supervision they performed at the day spa.
Florida District Attorney Jeffrey DeSousa had asked the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling, arguing that state attempts to prosecute criminal prostitution, mistreatment and ill-treatment were threatened by the suppression of evidence obtained through a lawful trial.
Lawyers must now decide how to proceed without the use of video evidence in the Kraft case.
The appellate court said that the warrants obtained in the cases “did not set specific written parameters to minimize the inclusion of innocent massage seekers, and in fact do not enforce adequate minimization techniques in use when supervising the video when deciding what to record.” ”
“In all investigations, some innocent spa-goers were videotaped and evacuated,” the statement said. “There was no suggestion or probable cause to believe that female spa clients received sexual services. However, legislation largely failed to adopt the most reasonable, basic, and obvious minimization technique that was common to female spas. “Do not monitor or record customers.”
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