11th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision
11th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision
11th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision
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[PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 22-13005
____________________
DONALD J. TRUMP,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant-Appellant.
____________________
1 See Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc)
(adopting as binding precedent all published cases of the former Fifth Circuit
decided prior to the close of business on September 30, 1981).
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2 Plaintiff’s lawyers claimed at oral argument that the special master process is
necessary to determine whether a constitutional violation happened. This jus-
tification finds no support in our precedent and would result in a dramatic and
unwarranted expansion of equitable jurisdiction.
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D.
Finally, Richey asks “whether the plaintiff has an adequate
remedy at law for the redress of his grievance.” 515 F.2d at 1243–
44. In deciding this factor for Plaintiff, the district court’s answer
was that he “would have no legal means of seeking the return of
his property for the time being and no knowledge of when other
relief might become available.” This is not a sufficient justification.
To start, Plaintiff invokes Rule 41(g) in his brief on appeal, but only
to say that it has been applied in other cases. The only argument
that he has plausibly made relating to that rule is for the return of
documents “not within the scope of the Search Warrant.” There
is no record evidence that the government exceeded the scope of
the warrant—which, it bears repeating, was authorized by a
magistrate judge’s finding of probable cause. And yet again,
Plaintiff’s argument would apply universally; presumably any
subject of a search warrant would like all of his property back
before the government has a chance to use it.
Plaintiff’s alternative framing of his grievance is that he
needs a special master and an injunction to protect documents that
he designated as personal under the Presidential Records Act. But
as we have said, the status of a document as personal or presidential
does not alter the authority of the government to seize it under a
warrant supported by probable cause; search warrants authorize
the seizure of personal records as a matter of course. The
Department of Justice has the documents because they were seized
with a search warrant, not because of their status under the
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Electronic Filing
All counsel must file documents electronically using the Electronic Case Files ("ECF") system,
unless exempted for good cause. Although not required, non-incarcerated pro se parties are
permitted to use the ECF system by registering for an account at www.pacer.gov. Information
and training materials related to electronic filing are available on the Court's website. Enclosed
is a copy of the court's decision filed today in this appeal. Judgment has this day been entered
pursuant to FRAP 36. The court's mandate will issue at a later date in accordance with FRAP
41(b).
The time for filing a petition for rehearing is governed by 11th Cir. R. 40-3, and the time for
filing a petition for rehearing en banc is governed by 11th Cir. R. 35-2. Except as otherwise
provided by FRAP 25(a) for inmate filings, a petition for rehearing or for rehearing en banc is
timely only if received in the clerk's office within the time specified in the rules. Costs are
governed by FRAP 39 and 11th Cir.R. 39-1. The timing, format, and content of a motion for
attorney's fees and an objection thereto is governed by 11th Cir. R. 39-2 and 39-3.
Please note that a petition for rehearing en banc must include in the Certificate of Interested
Persons a complete list of all persons and entities listed on all certificates previously filed by
any party in the appeal. See 11th Cir. R. 26.1-1. In addition, a copy of the opinion sought to be
reheard must be included in any petition for rehearing or petition for rehearing en banc. See
11th Cir. R. 35-5(k) and 40-1 .
Counsel appointed under the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) must submit a voucher claiming
compensation for time spent on the appeal no later than 60 days after either issuance of mandate
or filing with the U.S. Supreme Court of a petition for writ of certiorari (whichever is later) via
the eVoucher system. Please contact the CJA Team at (404) 335-6167 or
[email protected] for questions regarding CJA vouchers or the eVoucher
system.
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Please use the most recent version of the Bill of Costs form available on the court's website at
www.ca11.uscourts.gov.
For questions concerning the issuance of the decision of this court, please call the number
referenced in the signature block below. For all other questions, please call Bradly Wallace
Holland, DD at 404-335-6181.
Sincerely,