Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California

search and seizure laws for marijuana possesion

What are the laws governing the removal of a substance from my hotel room by a sheriff while I was not in the room? I found a note on a business card from the sheriff that he had taken my marijuana..less than one small joint, while i was out of the room. Were my rights violated or is this legal.

Thanks


Asked on 12/10/01, 2:59 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Miller Robert L. Miller & Associates, A Law Corporation

Re: search and seizure laws for marijuana possesion

Thanks for your posting. Without further facts, it is very difficult to state whether or not your particular search was legal.

Because your search was conducted without a warrant, it is presumed illegal unless it falls within one of the few exceptions to the rule against warrantless searches. People v. Fay (1986) 184 Cal.App.3d 882, 229 Cal.Rptr. 291.

Some of the exceptions include the drugs being in plain sight, you being on probation or parole, or there being probable cause to search the immediate area where you had been.

Thanks, and if you'd like more information or have more questions, please feel free to email or call my office at 714-568-1560.

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Answered on 12/11/01, 7:57 pm


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