“As an out of state attorney, I referred a matter to Colin Murphy for handling. He and his assistant, Leilani, were very quick to respond to requests for information and very understanding about educating and communicating with my client. I highly recommend him and this office.”
“In a society where privacy is in a perpetual state of decay, Colin has gone above and beyond what most lawyers have dreamt of accomplishing. He has changed the state’s law in a way that benefits anyone that recognizes and appreciates the protections the 4th amendment gives us. His proven superior understanding and passion for defending the erosion of expectation of privacy sets him far ahead of all others. If you find yourself in a situation where your right to unreasonable search and seizure has been violated, look no further. You won’t find anyone better than Colin Murphy.”
Maybe the timing is coincidental, but GRL Law secured a dismissal of all charges in State v. Wright on the same day the Iowa Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutional underpinning of trash rips in State v. Kuuttila. One might think that this line of cases would be the last word on the issue. But if you read the dissent, then you’ll see that the minority clearly wants to overrule a precedent that is barely four months old. In fact, they go as far as to encourage city councils and even the Iowa General Assembly to revive the now illegal police […]
Readers of the blog are no doubt aware of GRL Law’s work on warrantless garbage searches. Earlier this summer, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the police practice unconstitutional in State v. Wright, but remanded the case to the district court for a second look at the warrant. This time the district court could not consider any of the evidence seized during the trash rips in determining probable cause. The result? The only information that survived the Supreme Court’s ruling was uncorroborated hearsay. That information itself was months old. There was no choice but to invalidate the warrant. That means all […]
Waukee, Dallas County, Iowa. Not Guilty on another 20 charges brings the total of NFG’s in one case to 61. After a jury returned Not Guilty verdicts on 41 counts of Harassment in the First Degree, the prosecutor still pressed on with the remaining 20 counts of simple misdemeanor Harassment in the Third Degree. Those charges were finally brought to trial and the magistrate found GRL’s client Not Guilty of all the accusations. This case required a little extra perseverance but patience paid off with a total of 61 Not Guilty verdicts in one case.
The State cited our client for a log book violation discovered during a weigh scale inspection. We defended the case on the merits, but also raised challenges to the DOT officer’s notarization of the complaint at the close of the state’s case. The trial court just issued a ruling on our motion for judgment of acquittal two months after trial. Good things come to those who wait! The court dismissed the citation because of an improper notarization. That’s a NFG.
The State cited our client for driving an unsafe vehicle after the trailer detached from his rig while on the highway. The evidence showed the kingpin likely failed after the driver’s last inspection. We defended the case on the merits, but also raised challenges to the citation process and notarization at the close of the state’s case. The trial court finally issued a ruling on our motion for judgment of acquittal. It was certainly worth the six-month wait! The court dismissed the citation because of a lack of compliance with Iowa Code section 805.6 with costs assessed to the State. […]
A recent hard fought result led to this five-star review on Avvo.com: “Amazing people. Great to work with! Very friendly. Only law firm I’ll ever hire.”
GRL Law successfully argued for the dismissal of drug charges following a traffic stop in western Iowa. The State charged our client initially with marijuana possession. Multiple other felony charges were likely once the DCI Lab tested other substances seized by police. There was one problem. Probable cause to search requires an objective alert by a reliable and well-trained K9. Although law enforcement deployed a drug K9 on the vehicle, the dog never alerted to the presence of contraband. It merely showed interest without ever sitting. After reviewing the case, the county attorney decided to dismiss the pending possession charge […]
“Bin it” is a phrase used when asking someone to put something in the trash. GRL Law recently asked the district court to bin two drug felonies arising from a warrantless trash rip. If you are regular reader of this blog, then you know we convinced the Iowa Supreme Court earlier to find this police tactic unconstitutional in State v. Wright. We leveraged our work in Wright to challenge felony charges in another county. The facts were nearly identical. Police illegally trespassed onto our client’s garbage containers set out for collection to scavenge trash. A search of this trash led […]
