Tag: probable cause

13.7 Miles and Still No Probable Cause

Greenfield, Adair County, Iowa.  Local deputy followed GRL’s client for 13.7 miles and did not observe a single traffic violation.  Despite this fact, the Deputy still claimed that he had reason to believe the driver was operating while intoxicated and stopped the vehicle.  GRL moved to exclude all evidence obtained as a result of the traffic stop alleging a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.  The judge agreed, citing the fact that the Deputy failed to activate his squad car camera until he finally turned on his overhead lights and the portion of driving captured on […]

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Plain View Observation is Not Probable Cause to Search

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 […]

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Lights Out!

Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa.  Some things you must see to believe.  The prosecution and law enforcement attempted to convince a judge to not believe what everyone could clearly see.  Thankfully, the judge believed what he too could see. Two Iowa City Police Department police officers, Maddie Friedrich and her Field Training Officer, Brad Reinhard, attempted to claim that GRL Law’s client was driving through downtown Iowa City, at night, without the vehicle headlights illuminated.  According to Officer Friedrich’s report and sworn affidavit, “the defendant was seen driving without his headlights when required.”  The officers’ squad car video contradicted this […]

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Search Warrant for Blood? Call GRL Law

There was a time when the impaired driving defense lawyers at GRL Law only encountered search warrants for blood in felony OWI cases.  Especially those involving serious injuries. Those were the days.  The police no longer reserve search warrants for just serious injury accidents.  Now, it seems they pursue blood warrants for all types of cases.  Refuse a preliminary breath test with a prior OWI conviction on your record?  Transported to the hospital where breath testing is not available?  What about the odor of marijuana or the discovery of medication not prescribed to you? It’s common practice today for the […]

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Marijuana Grinders are not Paraphernalia in Iowa

Iowa Code section 124.414 defines “drug paraphernalia” as “all equipment, products, or materials of any kind used or attempted to be used in combination with a controlled substance . . . to knowingly or intentionally and primarily do any of the following:” Manufacture a controlled substance; Inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance; Test the strength, effectiveness, or purity of a controlled substance; or Enhance the effect of a controlled substance. Usually, the question regarding whether an item qualifies as drug paraphernalia under the statute focuses on subpart (2) and the item’s utility for […]

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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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Marijuana Smells Like, Well . . . Marijuana

The odor of burnt or raw marijuana, when detected by a law enforcement officer, supplies the requisite probable cause in Iowa to search a vehicle or apply for a warrant to search another’s property. You might think that a district court judge would require proof of some level of training and certification before determining the officer was qualified to distinguish between the odor of marijuana and, say, any other dried plant material? Turns out that’s not the case.  In fact, some basic drug interdiction training coupled with a tautological opinion from the officer that “marijuana smells like marijuana” will typically […]

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20 Year-Old OWI Charge Amended to Reckless Driving WIN

On September 3, 2020 the Cerro Gordo District Court amended a 20 year-old charge of OWI to reckless driving after GRL Law was retained to do what we do best: uncover and leverage every possible defense to our client’s benefit.  In this case, the initial call to dispatch came from a reserve officer who reportedly observed some careless driving.  The vehicle was being operated, however, in a private parking lot (careless driving under section 321.277A can only be committed on a public road).  Also, there was no allegation linking the driving behavior to drinking alcohol.  Furthermore, the arresting officer pulled […]

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