| PROVEN PROTECTION AGAINST ILLEGAL SEARCH AND SEIZURE |
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| | | Client is stopped by police observing traffic at highway tollbooths. Police instruct driver to pull over based on alleged failure to signal lane change and alleged sight obstructions hanging from rear view mirror. Police claim driver freely and voluntarily consents to a K-9 search of his vehicle which results in seizure of marijuana and LSD. Defendnat denies he granted police consent to search interior of car with k-9. Defense challenges legallity of initial motor vehicle stop, consent to search and scope of detention, including K-9 search. Court rules stop of vehicle unconstitutional. All drug charges dismissed. |  | | | | Police observe client's car travelling through hotel parking lot. Vehicle appears to be driving too fast and makes wide right turn as it passes unmarked police unit. Officer turns around and stops vehicle as it exits far side of hotel lot. Driver produces license and registration while officer sees in plain sight small amount of green vegatative matter in plastic bag in center console. Officer orders driver from car where he is questioned and admits there is additional contraband in car. Police discover additional marijuana packaged for sale, a scale and money. Defense Motion to Suppress allowed by Court as hotel parking lot was not a "way" for purposes of enforcing civil motor vehicle laws and possession of less than one (1) ounce of marijuana is not a crime under newly enacted Massachusetts statute and did not give rise to probable cause that a crime was being committed. Drug charges dismissed. | | | | | Police execute search warrant at client's home. During search drugs are found in bedroom area shared by client and girlfriend. Illegal handgun recovered in common area of home outside of basement bedroom. Insufficent evidence to establish beyond reasonable doubt that client alone had knowlegde, dominion and control over drugs and handgun. Not guilty verdicts following trial on all drug and gun charges. | | | | | Police stop client for marked lanes violation just after midnight. While producing license and registration police ask driver whether he has ever been arrested before. Driver admits that he has prior arrests for OUI and Possession of Marijuana. Police ask whether there is any contraband in vehicle to which driver hands a pipe used to smoke marijuana. Subsequent search of vehicle reveals an additional amount of marijuana. Defense argues police violated defendant’s right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure as questioning went beyond allowable scope of typical motor vehicle violation stop, in that driver should have been cited for violation and allowed to leave. Defense Motion to Suppress allowed, Possession of Controlled Substance Charge Dismissed. | | | | | Police stop pick-up truck for alleged loud muffler and travelling through toll both employee parking lot. Officer alleges that both passenger and driver are acting nervously after handing over license and registration and calls for back-up. Once back up arrives, both driver and passenger/client ordered to exit truck. Two ounces of marijuana found rolled up inside knit hat on passenger seat. Defense argues continued detention after initial stop for loud muffler was illegal and beyond scope of allowable detention where there was no evidence of ongoing criminal activity and "nervousness" does't constitute evidence of crime. Defense Motion to Suppress Evicence allowed, Possession of Controlled Drug Complaint Dismissed. | | | | | Campus police recieve reliable information that freshman is keeping marijuana in her dorm at the request of her boyfriend for sale to students on campus. Campus Police do not obtain a search warrant and instead wait until the next overnight shift to knock on the student/cleint's doorm room door at 1:00 a.m. Upon opening door police walk in turn on lights and immediately begin to question student about presence of drugs in room. Client becomes emotional, crying and retrieves the drugs for the police. Defense argues consent cannot be established as exception to warrant requirement because it was coerced and the result of an initial illegal entry into dorm room. Defense Motion to Suppress Evidence Allowed. Possession, Possession with Intent and School Zone Complaints Dismissed. | | | | | Client is stopped for failing to dim his headlights as police officer passed in the opposite lane of travel. After stoppong the car, officer smells a strong odor of marijuana. After calling for back-up, officer orders client from the vehicle over the cruiser's PA system. When questioned, client denies ever using drugs. After an intial pat frisk of client reveals nothing, officer decides to search the car, where he finds a picture of the defendant smoking from a bong. Officer then conducts a second pat frisk of the client and finds a film cannister containing marijuana. Defense argues that the continued detention of the defendant exceeded the scope of the permissible inquiry given the basis for the initial motor vehicle stop (failure to dim high beams). Defense Motion to Suppress Evidence Allowed, Possession of Marijuana Complaint Dismissed. | | | | | Police stop client for red-light violation. Defendant becomes agitated with Police yelling at him to hang up his cell phone. Ultimately client is dragged from the car by police, brought to the ground and handcuffed. Intially the Police charge the defendant with OUI and remove him from the scene. Arresting officer removes shipping package from front seat of client's car before it is towed from scene. Police admit that seizure of shipping container was not part of any inventory policy and that they later had to open packeage using knife to cut shipping tap. Inside several varities of illegal steriods are found. Defensne argues search of car and seizure of shipping container is not a valid inventory search nor a vailid search incident to arrest as the defendant is already in custody and removed from car. Defense Motion to Suppresse Evidence allowed, Possession of Controlled Drugs (Steroids) Charge Dismissed. Not guilty on OUI charge at trial. | | | | | Client is stopped after allegedly touching the center line on two occasions and swerving within his lane. Client is ultimately arrested for operating with a suspended license. An inventory search of the vehicle yields a small amount of marijuana, a tin foil pipe and some roaches in the ashtray. After client is arrested and transported to the station, officer finds a small bag of cocaine in the back seat of the police cruiser, which was not there prior to client's arrest. Defense argues that the defendant's car was stopped without a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity thus requiring the suppresion of all after-acquired evidence. Defense Motion to Suppress Evidence Allowed, Complaints for Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Cocaine are Dismissed. | |
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