Criminal Defense
You Have Legal Rights When You Share a Residence and Refuse Police Officers Request to Search Your Home or Apartment (Part 1)
Several recent Court rulings have addressed the issue of consent entry into one's residence. The issue of lawful consent becomes more complex when dealing with a residence shared by two occupants. In Georgia v. Randolph (2006) 164 L Ed.2d 208, the court held that if two occupants are at the door and one says officers may enter and the other refuses consent to enter, then officers cannot enter unless there…
Read MoreLegality Of Stop And Search Of A Vehicle (Part 3)
The concepts of "independent source" and "inevitable discovery" may serve to allow the introduction of illegally seized items into evidence. The prosecution must be able to show that the items discovered would have been inevitably discovered regardless of the illegal search or seizure. The prosecution will try and introduce and independent source or means, satisfying the doctrine and avoiding the protections of the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule. A criminal defense…
Read MoreProsecution’s Burden to Justify a Warrantless Search or Seizure
It is the prosecution's burden to justify a warrantless search or seizure. People v. Williams (1999) 20 Cal. 4th 119. The defendant has the right to suppress evidence when the evidence is obtained by an illegal detention, arrest, or search in violation of both the United States Constitution and Cal Pen. Code section 1538.5. In addition, the exclusionary rule of the Fourth Amendment prohibits the admission of evidence obtained as…
Read MoreExigent Circumstances May Justify a Warrantless Entry into One’s Home
In some situations, a search may be found reasonable despite the lack of a warrant. However, to establish the presence of emergency or "exigent" circumstances, there must be a showing of necessity. People v. Sutton (1976) 65 .3d 341, 351. Specifically, at the time the warrantless entry is made, there must be an "imminent and substantial threat to life, health, or property." Id. at 350. Whether the requisite exigency is…
Read MoreNew Court Ruling Results in Drug Conviction Reversal: The Criminally Accused Have a Right to Confront the Witnesses Against Them – Part I
In Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, the defendant was convicted of drug possession. 129 S.Ct. 2527 (2009). The conviction went all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court reversed the defendant's drug conviction because the trial court violated the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights. In Melendez, the trial court admitted the prosecutions certificates by laboratory analysts, stating that the material seized by police and connected to…
Read MoreConfessions and Admissions that are Product of Illegal Search are Subject to Suppression in Court
Depending upon the facts of your case, your confession and/or admission may be inadmissible if the statements were the product of an illegal search. However, the defendant must show a relationship between the unlawful search and the defendant's statement. Once this has been established, the burden of proof shifts to the Prosecution to show that the confession or admission was the product of an intervening independent act of the defendant's…
Read MoreMedical Marijuana Card Does Not Necessarily Protect Against Vehicle Search
An officer with probable cause to search is not prevented from doing so by someone presenting a medical marijuana card or a medical marijuana prescription. Various courts have held that, once the officer has probable cause, the officer is entitled to continue to search and investigate, and determine whether the subject of the investigation is in fact possessing the marijuana for personal medical needs, and is adhering to the eight-ounce…
Read MoreImpound and Inventory of a Vehicle (Part 2)
The United States Supreme Court case of South Dakota v. Operman, 427 US 364 (1976) set for the following criteria for the lawful impound and inventory of a vehicle: The vehicle must be lawfully in police custody. For example, following a traffic stop or lawful arrest of a driver. The inventory must be for the purpose of listing the contents of the vehicle and not for an investigative purpose. The…
Read MoreImpound and Inventory of a Vehicle (Part 1)
Generally, a police officer can seize any vehicle they have probable cause to believe contains illegal items or evidence of a crime. Once the vehicle has been "seized," police can then conduct a search at a police facility or impound lot. The California Vehicle Code details when a car can and cannot be impounded. If contraband or evidence of a crime is discovered during the course of a lawful inventory…
Read MoreCan Police Knock On My Front Door When Acting Solely On an Anonymous and Uncorroborated Tip?
Numerous Court of Appeal cases have approved the police practice of "knock and talk" based entirely on an anonymous and uncorroborated tip. Recently, the California Supreme Court stated, "even if acting on an anonymous tip, police may knock on the door of a residence, speak with the occupant, and request permission to enter and search" People v. Rivera, 41 Cal.4th 304 (2007). An aggressive and experienced Orange County criminal defense…
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