In the process of saving a CDL from being disqualified, the impaired driving attorneys at GRL exposed a potential flaw in the implied consent advisory for commercial motor vehicles. The advisory provides that commercial driving privileges will be disqualified if the drivers tests over 0.04 for alcohol or refuses testing while operating a CMV. However, […]
In what may be the first ruling of its kind in Buchanan County, a GRL client is a free man today after the district court there suppressed the search of his semi truck and dismissed all charges. At issue was the Level II inspection criteria that many counties with weight stations impermissibly use to justify […]
The drug crime attorneys at GRL have seen our fair share of searches involving commercial motor vehicles. Whether its a random stop on the highway or the weight station, DOT officers will seize the opportunity to search closed containers in the truck cab under the authority for inspecting closely regulating industries. They will tell the […]
Can I be FORCED to provide a breath sample to law enforcement if I am suspected of OWI? As criminal defense attorneys specializing in OWI defense, we often get questions about what to do if arrested for an OWI. Many of the questions surround what to do if asked for a sample from your body: […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
In State v. Wright, the Iowa Supreme Court recently banned warrantless searches of curbside trash. This landmark ruling puts an end to an investigative technique used by police for decades. The issues before the Iowa Supreme Court were matters of first impression. The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law are the first to ever raise […]
