When it comes to warrantless searches, the drug crime attorneys at GRL Law really know their stuff. A recent example from North Iowa shows just how they leverage their knowledge to secure a dismissal by shining a bright light on illegal police conduct. Our client was the passenger in a vehicle that was parked one […]
When law enforcements applies for a search warrant based on the odor of marijuana, they must describe to the magistrate how they know recognize the odor. Things like training, experience, etc., in drug interdiction are critically important to establish probable cause to issue the warrant. What happens when the application is silent on training and […]
In the process of saving a CDL from being disqualified, the impaired driving attorneys at GRL exposed a potential flaw in the implied consent advisory for commercial motor vehicles. The advisory provides that commercial driving privileges will be disqualified if the drivers tests over 0.04 for alcohol or refuses testing while operating a CMV. However, […]
In what may be the first ruling of its kind in Buchanan County, a GRL client is a free man today after the district court there suppressed the search of his semi truck and dismissed all charges. At issue was the Level II inspection criteria that many counties with weight stations impermissibly use to justify […]
The drug crime attorneys at GRL have seen our fair share of searches involving commercial motor vehicles. Whether its a random stop on the highway or the weight station, DOT officers will seize the opportunity to search closed containers in the truck cab under the authority for inspecting closely regulating industries. They will tell the […]
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 […]
It goes without saying that postal service investigations rarely turn out well for those who receive marijuana products by mail. Drug dogs and search warrants will conspire to reveal the contents of suspicious packages before they reach the mailbox. At that point, the recipients face a Hobson’s choice: either snitch on friends or cop to […]
For the fifth time since joining GRL Law in 2018, Colin Murphy was once again named to the Great Plains Super Lawyers list in 2022, an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice. Only 5 percent of attorneys in the region receive this distinction.
GRL recently put its knowledge of drug identification procedures to the test in a case involving alleged THC vape liquid. Police seized a vape cart during a traffic stop. Field testing of the liquid extract showed a positive color change indicating the possible presence of marijuana. Frequent readers of the GRL Law blog know that […]
Readers of the GRL Law blog are no doubt familiar with the firm’s efforts to protect the privacy rights of Iowans in State v. Wright. That’s the 2021 ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court that banned police from trespassing on your curbside garbage and searching it without a warrant. Predictably, the law enforcement community threw […]
