Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

search warrant procedures - rights and limits

i was at a friends house getting my car stereo installed in my car. about an hour and a half later, the cops show up at the house with a search warrant to search the house. i was handcuffed and put in the livingroom area where they then searched me and asked what my name was and then ran my name for any warrants. my name came back as ''clear with no warrants. they then took us all outside where i was searched again and told that were going downtown. before i was put into the car i was searched again and nothing was found. there was a total of 4 of us being taken to jail. one of my friends was not on the search warrant and neither was i. my other 2 friends names were. we get to the jail and we were being booked individually. we were all searched again before entering the booking area. it was then that a little plastic bag with methanphetemene ressidue was found in my pocket. after being handcuffed in a room to a table for 4 hours a cop comes finaly comes in and tells me in these exact words..(''well, fortunately you dont have anything to do with my investigation but unfortunately, a baggy of meth was found on you..so your going down for posession!'') they let 1 of my friends go and i stayed in jail. can i get this case dropped?


Asked on 1/30/05, 2:28 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: search warrant procedures - rights and limits

Not based on anything you have told us. Depending upon what the officers were searching for and what information they had prior to the search, you may have an argument that you were unreasonably seized and that the meth evidence should be suppressed. With the limited facts you have provided, there isn't much more I can suggest.

The fact that you weren't named on the warrant does not necessarily mean the police acted improperly when they handcuffed and arrested you. As I said above, whether their actions were proper will depend upon additional facts. If they acted properly then I see no reason the evidence should be excluded. And even if the evidence is eventually suppressed and the charges dismissed, you will still have to go through some preliminary steps before this happens.

The fact that the evidence was not discovered the first few times you were searched is also not enough to get the case dismissed. Police often do a much more thorough search at the station than they could do in the field, and there is nothing wrong with this practice.

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Answered on 1/30/05, 4:45 pm


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