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 field testing can mistake CBD for marijuana. We’ve discussed this phenomenon here. This is where things get interesting. Police didn’t send the cart to the state crime lab. Instead, they sent it to a local department that employs an officer with training in marijuana identification. […]
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 a tantrum after the ruling. And they ran kicking and screaming to some legislators at the statehouse who obviously can’t appreciate the difference between the Iowa Bill of Rights and the Communist Manifesto. The result? Effective tomorrow, July 1, 2022, anyone can scavenge your garbage. […]
There was a time when the observation of marijuana seeds on the floorboard of a vehicle provided probable cause to search. Why? Because the definition of “marijuana” under Iowa law includes cannabis seeds. However, with the passage of the Iowa Hemp Act, Iowa Code chapter 204, that may no longer be the case. “Hemp” in Iowa is any part of the cannabis plant with a delta-9 THC concentration of up to 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. The definition of hemp also includes seeds. Hemp is legal to possess in the state of Iowa. Both marijuana and hemp seeds […]
Iowa law defines “drug paraphernalia” to include equipment used to inhale a controlled substance. However, the definition excepts those items used in combination with the lawful use of a controlled substance. How should the law treat smoking accessories used to inhale “medical cannabidiol” or the out-of-state equivalent? We put this question to the test recently in a case in North Iowa. The State charged our client with possession of drug paraphernalia for a marijuana pipe found in the passenger compartment of his car. Law enforcement also uncovered cannabis flower, which our client obtained with a valid out-of-state medical card. Medical […]
Frequent readers of our blog are certainly familiar with the firm’s reciprocity argument regarding medical marijuana. Normally, the State concedes this issue and voluntarily dismisses the charge. However, the Iowa State Patrol trooper involved here objected to a dismissal. So, we had the opportunity to finally pitch our argument to the district court. Our client held a valid medical card from Missouri. The cannabis flower seized by the trooper was medical marijuana. The court dismissed the charge and found that Chapter 124E provides reciprocity for out-of-state medical marijuana. Charged with possession of medical marijuana? Call the drug crime lawyers at […]
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, […]
On December 3, 2021 the Iowa Supreme Court reinstated a drug possession conviction in State v. Jones. The ruling provides a good reminder to the drug defense bar regarding the differences between actual and constructive possession. The drugs in this case were located in a small drawstring bag on the ground near Jones’ front bumper. The Iowa Court of Appeals determined this was a constructive possession case because the bag was not found on Jones. That is an incomplete statement of the law. A person can be in actual possession when substantial evidence supports a finding the contraband was on […]
Does marijuana legalization free police to solve more serious, violent crimes? A recent study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy suggests that is true. The study looked at crime clearance rates in Oregon from 2007 to 2017. Oregon legalized adult-use marijuana in 2014. Researches found that clearance rates improved after 2014. Police solved more violent crimes than counterparts in prohibition states. A 2018 study examining clearance rates in Washington and Colorado found similar results. This is also consistent with studies showing overall crime rates in states that legalized marijuana either held steady or declined. It makes sense intuitively, […]
Do police have the right to search your car without a warrant if they see THC edibles in your center console during a traffic stop? The answer may surprise you. Suspected contraband in plain view does not necessarily provide probable cause to search the passenger compartment. Sure, the observation alone might provide PC under the right circumstances, but it’s still the State’s burden to prove it. The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law believe PC requires more that just a plain view observation. Like furtive movements or efforts to conceal. Or uncooperative behavior or false identification by the driver or […]
