Page:United States v. Morton (19-10842) (2021) Opinion.pdf/8

 (5th Cir. 2017); Bigford v. Taylor, 834 F.2d 1213, 1218 (5th Cir. 1988). Here, Trooper Blue relied on his fourteen years in law enforcement and eight years as a “DRE-Drug Recognition Expert” to assert that suspects’ call logs often show calls “arrang[ing] for the illicit receipt and delivery of controlled substances”; stored numbers identify “suppliers of illicit narcotics”; and text messages “may concern conversations” along these lines as well. Since this is true of drug possession suspects in general, and Morton had been found with drugs, Trooper Blue credibly alleges that there is a “fair probability” that these features of Morton’s phone would contain similar evidence of Morton’s drug possession charges.

These conclusions are supported by simple logic. To possess drugs, one must have purchased them; contacts, call records, and text messages could all easily harbor proof of this purchase. For example, text messages could show a conversation with a seller haggling over the drugs’ cost or arranging a location to meet for the exchange. Similarly, Morton could have had his source of drugs listed in his contacts as “dealer” or some similar name, and recent calls with such a person could show a recent purchase. The affidavit makes all of these points. For this reason, we hold that there was probable cause to search Morton’s contacts, call records, and text messages for evidence relating to his illegal drug possession.

But the affidavits also asserted probable cause to believe that the photographs on Morton’s phones contained evidence of other drug crimes, and on this claim, they fail the test of probable cause as related to the crime of possession. That is, they fall short of raising a “substantial chance” that the photographs on Morton’s phones would contain evidence pertinent to his crime of simple drug possession. As we have said, officers are permitted to rely on training and experience when attesting that probable cause exists,