If you are facing drug charges arising from a trash rip search warrant, then you should call the drug defense attorneys at GRL Law. GRL Law pioneered the novel legal challenge to the admissibility of evidence seized from these search warrants in State v. Wright. Police can no longer trespass onto your personal property to gather […]
In State v. Wright, the Iowa Supreme Court recently banned warrantless searches of curbside trash. This landmark ruling puts an end to an investigative technique used by police for decades. The issues before the Iowa Supreme Court were matters of first impression. The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law are the first to ever raise […]
If you witness a drug overdose, then Iowa’s Good Samaritan Law will protect you if you call 911 for medical assistance. That’s right. The law provides full immunity for certain Chapter 124 drug charges including: Delivery of a controlled substance, if not done for profit (124.401); Simple possession (124.401(5)); Gatherings (124.407); and Drug paraphernalia (124.414). […]
On February 17, 2021 the Iowa Court of Appeals in State v. Tucker dismissed felony drug charges against an informant who upheld her end of a task force proffer. Although both the factual and procedural histories are long and winding, the issue on appeal was fairly straightforward. Should the court enforce a plea agreement against […]
The drug defense attorneys at GRL have blogged before on the pitfalls of being stopped by police with marijuana in your personal vehicle. Fortunately, Iowa no longer suspends your driving privileges for drug convictions. Does this mean you can keep personal use quantities in the sleeper area of a semi truck? In a word, no. […]
West Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law successfully negotiated the dismissal of drug charges after challenging the traffic stop. The arresting officer claimed in his report that “the light was red” when “[the car] traversed the intersection.” His dash camera showed instead that our client’s car was nearly through […]
Garner, Hancock County, Iowa. The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law successfully raised and litigated a claim of actual innocence resulting in the district court setting aside a felony conviction from 2017. Prior counsel advised our client to plead guilty to a felony charge of administering marijuana edibles to another in violation of Iowa Code […]
New Hampton, Chickasaw County, Iowa. A traffic stop for speeding by an out-of-state driver on Interstate 35 led to a warrantless probable cause search of the vehicle based on the odor of marijuana. Deputies located significant quantities of marijuana flower in a glass jar in the passenger compartment and charged our client with both felony […]
In United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012), the Supreme Court announced that any physical intrusion onto a personal “effect,” such as a vehicle parked on a public street, was a search under the Fourth Amendment when done for the purposes of gathering information. Most attorneys and judges understand Jones to be the “GPS […]
Prior out-of-state convictions for marijuana can be very problematic if you are arrested for a possession offense in Iowa. Iowa Code section 124.411 provides “an offense is considered a second or subsequent offense, if, prior to the person’s having been convicted of the offense, the offender has ever been convicted under this chapter or under […]
