Tag: Iowa drug laws

Postal Service “Profile” for Mailed Drug Packages

Did you know the postal inspector examines hundreds of suspicious packages each week at the Des Moines mail processing center for narcotics and drug proceeds?  What factors make some packages stand out from others?  Here are the top 5: Fictitious name, address or telephone number.  People who ship narcotics often provide fake information to avoid detection if the package is traced.  It might be a fictitious name for the return label.  Perhaps the return address isn’t associated with the sender’s name or simply doesn’t exist.  The packing slip may provide a disconnected phone number or none at all.  While the […]

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Consequences of Marijuana Possession in a Commercial Motor Vehicle

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.  Not unless, of course, you are looking to have your CDL privileges disqualified for six months. That’s right. You will lose your privilege to drive a commercial motor vehicle if convicted of most simple possession offenses.   Marijuana, amphetamines or any narcotic drug will do the […]

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What is Aiding and Abetting a Drug Crime?

If a person approves and agrees to the commission of a drug crime, then he will be treated the same as the person who is accused of actually committing the crime.  This is referred to as “aiding and abetting.” How does a person aid and abet a drug crime? It’s simple.  Either he actively participates in a delivery or grow or knowingly advises or encourages it beforehand. Aiding and abetting may be inferred from circumstantial evidence including companionship and conduct surrounding the transaction.  This is because knowledge of a person’s state of mind is seldom capable of direct proof. For […]

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The Constructive Possession Defense for Marijuana

The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law have seen it all when it comes to traffic stops involving cannabis.  This is especially true when police charge a driver with possession for weed located under a passenger’s seat.    Is there a defense for the driver? Absolutely! Because this marijuana is not actually found on the driver, the State must establish he constructively possessed it by proving he: Exercised dominion and control over it; Knew of its presence; and Knew it was a controlled substance. A driver’s close physical proximity to contraband is insufficient to constitute dominion and control.  The same […]

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Knowledge of Drug Residue Can Be Inferred from Evidence

In State v. Hummell, No. 19-1691 (Nov. 30, 2020), the Iowa Court of Appeals reminds the criminal defense bar that a defendant’s knowledge of contraband can be inferred from evidence. The facts are pretty straightforward.  Police seized a broken glass vial with a white powdery substance from Hummell’s pocket following his arrest.  Hummell claimed that he regularly picked up random items from the ground and pocketed them.  The residue later tested positive for methamphetamine. In order to support a conviction for possession of a controlled substance, the State is required to prove two elements beyond a reasonable doubt: That the […]

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Problems with Traffic Stop Lead to Dismissal of Marijuana Charges

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 the intersection when the signal changed from yellow to red.  There was no evidence the car entered the intersection on a yellow light.  The officer later searched the car and discovered nearly 50 grams of processed marijuana flower.  No tax stamps were affixed to the […]

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Felony Conviction Vacated Following Ineffective Assistance of Counsel WIN

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 section 708.5 despite the fact that she consistently maintained her innocence throughout the investigative, plea change and sentencing phases of the case. The firm raised numerous grounds on which the district court could have certainly found her trial counsel ineffective.  We were able to clearly […]

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Class D Felony Marijuana Charge Dismissed WIN

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 and misdemeanor possession under Iowa Code section 124.401.  The class D felony charge was punishable by an indeterminate term of prison of up to 5 years and a fine of $7,500. Both the stop and the search were legal under Iowa law.  However, as a […]

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Applying the Trespass Doctrine to K9 Sniffs in Marijuana Traffic Stops

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 monitoring” case because the F.B.I. joint task force affixed a tracking device to a vehicle driven by a suspected drug trafficker.  The attorneys at GRL Law know, however, that the reach of Jones and its progeny extend far beyond its facts.  We believe it has […]

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Prior Out-of-State Convictions for Marijuana Possession

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 any state or federal statute relating to . . . marijuana . . . .”  Prosecutors typically rely on this provision in charging a second offense when you are charged with felony possession with intent to deliver or manufacture in Iowa and have any prior […]

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