Search Warrant without location to be searched is invalid
Facts In 2013, MBN got a search warrant for the home of Bobby Ray Canada and Beverly Turman. Section one, denoting the location for the search to be executed, was completely blank. They executed the warrant and collected $293,720 from the home and then commenced a civil forfeiture action. Canada and Turman filed a motion […]
Motor vehicle exception justifies search of car
Facts Alphonzo Garth and another man were sitting in a vehicle outside some apartments in West Point, Mississippi. Garth was in the driver’s seat and the other man in the passenger’s seat. Police were searching for the other man after a complaint that he had been involved in a disturbance at the apartments and was […]
Extending the stop at a checkpoint does not require probable cause
Facts Kimberly Sellers was stopped at a driver’s license checkpoint in Starkville. A subsequent Intoxilizer test revealed her blood- alcohol content to be .088, in excess of the legal limit. Sellers was convicted of DUI, first offense, and sentenced to pay a fine of $600. On appeal, she argued the evidence should have been suppressed […]
Search warrant lacked probable cause as informant’s information was not corroborated
Facts In 2011, Sherri Stewart came to Philadelphia P.D. and said she was the victim of identity theft as a fraudulent Facebook page on her was created using a stolen picture from her authentic Facebook page. The fraudulent Facebook page was then slandering her and causing problems with her job. Stewart provided police with the […]
Warrant for phone was specific enough for search in addition to seizure
Facts Sarah, 15 years old, lived with her grandmother, siblings, and her adult cousin, Robert Moore. One morning, Sarah got up to use the bathroom and Moore called out to her. When Sarah entered his room, he blocked her from leaving, physically threatened her, and had sex with her. He also took various sexual explicit […]
Consent to search pouch in hotel revealed drugs
Facts In 2012, Investigator Matt Haley and Sergeant Christopher Hearn of Harrison County S.O. were participating in a drug round up, where a group of law enforcement officers went out together and attempted to serve several outstanding warrants. They had an arrest warrant for Ryan O’Donnell and discovered he was at the Broadway Express Inn, […]