Legal Question in Criminal Law in Georgia

drug raid with no warrant

my x had a felony arrest warrant, she happened to be at my house one night, which has never been her residance. the cops threatned to kick the door in. when i cracked it, it was forced open. I was handcuffed and drug outside. there is also no one to testify she was in my house that night, and no way they could have identified her inside the house from outside. Im charged with poss. of mj less than oz. for a pipe that was found in plain view in the room she was in when they came for her. My public defender is telling me they can do more with an arrest warrant than a search warrant, I dont by it..

Can someone point me in the direction of some GA Codes or Past Cases Similar to this that I can present to help me get my charges supressed?


Asked on 10/16/08, 3:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Daniel Duello Garrett, Gilliard & Saul

Re: drug raid with no warrant

Tell your public defender to look up this case: State v. Schwartz, 261 Ga. App. 742, 744 (2003).

Here's a quote from it:

Undoubtedly, an officer may knock on the outside door of a home without implicating the Fourth Amendment.(fn4) The State argues that, given the arrest warrant, the deputies were further authorized to enter the Schwartz residence and search for Walker. In granting the motion to suppress, however, the trial court found insufficient evidence that Walker lived with the Schwartzes. And "[i]t is now well established that even when armed with an arrest warrant, police must have either a search warrant, exigent circumstances or consent to lawfully enter a third person's home to arrest someone who does not reside there."

Good Luck.

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Answered on 10/17/08, 2:40 pm


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