Tag: Expectation of Privacy

Felony Drug Charges Dismissed After New Garbage Rip Law Struck

Hey, Senator Dawson and Representative Holt!  It’s your boy, Murph.  Didn’t I tell you in March that this wouldn’t turn out well? I’m talking about your unconstitutional efforts to restore the illegal practice of warrantless garbage searches in Iowa.  You know, the police tactic that we struck down last year in State v. Wright? The first district court to consider your magnum opus found it unconstitutional. That’s right. The State even dismissed the charges the following day. Think about it.  It took less than 24 hours for the State to decide it wouldn’t defend your garbage on appeal. And who […]

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Changes in Iowa Law – Effective July 1, 2022

It has become a tradition at GRL to highlight the Legislature’s activity over the past year that impacts GRL’s areas of legal practice.  Here are the top 5 changes in Iowa laws that GRL believes the Iowa public should be aware of in 2022: Taking out the Trash.  As we have repeatedly posted, the Iowa Legislature wants Iowan’s trash to be open season.  Not just by law enforcement but by anyone.  Senate File 2296, signed into law by the Governor states in part: “It is the public policy of this state that a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in […]

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Drug Felonies Dismissed Following Unconstitutional Garbage RIp

Earlier this year GRL convinced the Iowa Supreme Court to outlaw the police tactic of warrantless garbage searches in State v. Wright. We haven’t rested on our laurels since the ruling.  Instead, we got to work in several counties where these trash rips resulted in felony charges. A recent case in southeastern Iowa was no exception.  The facts were essentially identical to Wright.  Police illegally trespassed onto our client’s garbage containers set out for collection to scavenge trash.  A search of this trash led to a search warrant to search our client’s home resulting in two drug felony charges. However, […]

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Two Drug Felonies Binned After Warrantless Trash Rip Ruled Unconstitutional

“Bin it” is a phrase used when asking someone to put something in the trash. GRL Law recently asked the district court to bin two drug felonies arising from a warrantless trash rip.  If you are regular reader of this blog, then you know we convinced the Iowa Supreme Court earlier to find this police tactic unconstitutional in State v. Wright.  We leveraged our work in Wright to challenge felony charges in another county.  The facts were nearly identical.  Police illegally trespassed onto our client’s garbage containers set out for collection to scavenge trash.  A search of this trash led […]

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Drug Charges Resulting from a Trash Rip Search Warrant? Call GRL Law

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 information.  Iowans also have a constitutionally recognized expectation of privacy in garbage set out for curbside collection. Many attorneys are simply unaware of these recent developments and may overlook the necessary pretrial challenges. Don’t plead guilty to any charges following a search warrant based on […]

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GRL Law Wins Landmark Search and Seizure Case Before Iowa Supreme Court

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 the issue of trespass onto a constitutionally-protected “effect” in Iowa. We are also the first to persuade an Iowa appellate court to find an expectation of privacy in uncollected garbage. Prior to Wright, police wantonly searched household garbage set out for collection.  This was often […]

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