The Iowa Department of Public Health began issuing digital medical cannabidiol registration cards for qualified patients and caregivers. They come complete with a QR code that may be scanned by law enforcement to verify the person’s status. The Department advises that “law enforcement representatives may request to temporarily handle your mobile device to verify your […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
