Criminal Defense
A Drinking and Driving Complaint May Give Rise to a Warrantless Search of Your Home
An Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Will Protect Your Right from a Warrantless Search of Your Home Any person can call law enforcement and complain to tell them that a person is drinking and driving. If a complaint names the suspected drunk driver, law enforcement may be able to go the house of the named suspect and lawfully search the home without a warrant. Some courts have held that these searches…
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Officer’s Have Heightened Duty to Confirm an Anonymous Tipster’s Information
An Experienced Criminal Defense Firm will Expose a Lack of Reliability from an Anonymous Informant An anonymous tip, standing alone, seldom will exhibit sufficient indicia of reliability to support reasonable suspicion for an investigatory or traffic stop. An informant who provides information face-to-face to law enforcement is not considered the same as an anonymous tipster. See United States v. Romain, 393 F.3d, 63 (2004). Officers do not have the same…
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Courts Give a Presumption of “Reasonable Suspicion” Established from a Citizen Informant’s Statements
An Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Knows How to Effectively Rebut this Presumption As discussed in the blog yesterday, a person who tips officers to suspected criminal conduct is called an "informant." A citizen informant generally gains knowledge of an alleged criminal offense by being either a witness or a victim. A citizen informant is deemed to be reliable, unless this presumption of reliability is rebutted. Courts have held that a…
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A Traffic Stop Based on an Anonymous Informant’s Tip Must Be Reliable to be a Legal Stop
Why You Need a Criminal Defense Attorney Who Knows Search and Seizure Laws In order to conduct a legal traffic stop, an officer must have what is called "reasonable suspicion" to stop the car. Often, officers will rely on a tip they received from someone who may know the suspect, one who may have seen the suspect engage in an illegal activity, or a person with a hunch to create…
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