task force Archives

Posted on August 25, 2022August 25, 2022
Colin Murphy
GRL Law, Recent Results

THC Vape Charges Dismissed After Search of Mail Suppressed

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 a felony. What can you do when neither is an option? You guessed it. You get the drug crime lawyers at GRL Law involved. Here’s an example of how we can flip the script on these mailed drug cases that don’t involve the odor of […]

Due Process Rights in Property Seized for Forfeiture

If you have cash seized for forfeiture by the Iowa State Patrol or another law enforcement agency during a traffic stop, then due process entitles you to certain rights. Normally, the trooper will provide you with a Notice of Seizure for Forfeiture. This will list the date, time and location along with a description of the seized property. You are probably thinking that the Notice tells the owner what to do to reclaim the money, right? Not exactly. The forfeiture attorneys at GRL Law have yet to see a notice that provides any description of an owner’s rights. Iowa law […]

Murphy Presents at NORML ISU Chapter Meeting

On October 13, 2021 GRL Law’s own Colin Murphy spoke before a packed room of cannabis activists at the ISU Memorial Union. The presentation for NORML ISU focused on the current status of marijuana and cannabis extracts. Colin discussed what not to do during traffic stops. He also reviewed important driver rights to assert during detention and arrest. GRL’s firm culture emphasizes public outreach especially when it comes to emerging legal issues like cannabis. Our attorneys regularly take part in educating the general public, criminal defense bar and bench. Presentations like this are what sets GRL Law apart as the […]

The “Take-Back” Entrapment Defense

The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law are often asked about the possibility of asserting an entrapment defense in drug cases. It’s usually in the context of a controlled buy from an informant who is trying to work off a collar. The regular entrapment defense requires evidence of excessive incitement, urging, persuasion or temptation. Merely providing the opportunity to commit a crime is not enough. That’s why the regular entrapment defense is difficult to raise for most vanilla drug transactions. Typically nothing excessive! But then there’s the “take-back” entrapment defense. That is available when an informant supplies drugs to the accused […]

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 […]

GRL Law Secures Dismissal of Felony CBD Charges in Polk County

The Polk County Attorney’s Office and GRL Law announce the resolution of criminal charges against Lacie Navin arising from the retail sale of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) in December 2019. At the time of her arrest, Iowa’s Hemp Act, S.F. 599, which would provide for the production and retail sale of hemp products in Iowa, had not been fully implemented. Until the approval of the State Hemp Plan by the United States Department of Agriculture, it was unlawful to distribute CBD products under Iowa Code chapter 124. In late November 2019, Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement (MINE) Task Force officers informed Ms. Navin […]

GRL Law Considered Authority on Delta-8 THC by Task Force

The cannabis compliance attorneys at GRL Law received a call this week that brought smiles to the office. Apparently, one local task force is supplying copies of our most recent blog post on delta-8 THC to area retailers to explain the current state of the law on this particular cannabinoid. When law enforcement is citing the firm as authority, then we must be experts, right? We think so. We help Iowa cannabusinesses maintain compliance with the changing landscape of consumable hemp laws and regulations. Have questions about manufacturing or the retail sale of hemp-derived products? Give us a call at […]

The Number One Reason Why Seized Property Claims Fail

When the task force takes property from a citizen without consent, it becomes “seized” property. Iowa law provides specific rules for making a claim for the return of property seized under these circumstances. If the rules are not followed to the letter, then it is all but impossible for the rightful owner to recover. This is true even when police illegally seized the property in the first place. The seized and forfeited property attorneys at GRL Law know a recoverable claim when they see it. If there is but one reason why most owners fail to recover their seized property, […]

Snitch Beats Rap After Task Force FUBAR

On February 17, 2021 the Iowa Court of Appeals in State v. Tucker dismissed felony drug charges against an informant who upheld her end of a task force proffer. Although both the factual and procedural histories are long and winding, the issue on appeal was fairly straightforward. Should the court enforce a plea agreement against the State when the informant does what the prosecutor specifically asked as part of the plea agreement? Here, the informant faced 40 years in prison for methamphetamine and heroin possession. She made a proffer to the task force and agreed to testify against another party […]

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