Successful Suppression Ruling
I recently was successful with a motion to suppress evidence in a case involving a woman named Cassandra who was charged with possession of a controlled substance.
I met Cassandra just before she was to have a trial so I was unable to put in any motions or make any type of pre-trial move. I told her to tell her story just as she had told it to me because it seemed like a sound defense.
As it turned out, she convinced three people to vote not-guilty and the jury was hung. Her story was basically that she loaned her pair of pants to her girlfriend who was the one who left the “drugs” in the coin pocket of her pants.
After this the assistant D.A. decided to refile the charges and this gave me the opportunity to file a motion to suppress. The motion was heard on September 12 of 2013 and the ruling is found here.
After the ruling, the deputy D.A. decided to appeal the decision of the judge and the hearing on appeal is set for January 31, 2014. Stay tuned!
Thomas
“Plain Smell Doctrine?” That’s a new one for me…. I had to look that one up & I got
http://www.legalupdateonline.com/4th/574
Interesting point, & one that brings us to the wonderful “Terry Stop.” That opened the door for everything, didn’t it? Is it even remotely possible to defeat that, or is it simply a matter of “the way things are?”
FWIW – You can’t blame the ADA for appealing, as the above link shows it’s kind of up for debate. I’m surprised the judge ruled as they did….. that would never happen here in Michigan….. but, as you say, the plaintiff always wins… interesting stuff!