229 results for 'cat:"Drug Offender" AND cat:"Evidence"'.
J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly dismissed defendant's motion to suppress evidence in his trial for felony possession of a controlled substance. Officers had been called to a gas station on a report of suspicious behavior related to defendant parking his car at a pump for 45 minutes. An officer with a trained narcotics dog does not need probable cause to allow the dog to conduct a free air sniff of a vehicle parked in a public area because this is not considered a search. Furthermore, because defendant did not have a valid driver's license, he would have been unable to remove the vehicle from the gas station. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: September 19, 2024, Case #: 2024-WY-99, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
J. Neville finds that the appellate court properly upheld the circuit court’s decision to suppress evidence in defendant’s drug trial after ruling that the police officer lacked probable cause to search defendant's car after smelling burnt cannabis coming from the passenger side window. “The odor of burnt cannabis, alone, is insufficient to provide probable cause for police officers to perform a warrantless search of a vehicle.” Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Supreme Court, Judge: Neville, Filed On: September 19, 2024, Case #: 2024 IL 129201, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
J. Raphael finds that the trial court properly denied defendant’s motion to suppress evidence from a warrantless entry by a police officer. Defendant is challenging his firearm and drug convictions, arguing that the trial court should have suppressed evidence from a police officer who found his pistol in his waistband. The officer did not violate the Fourth Amendment because his warrantless entry into the car was reasonable under the emergency-aid exception.
Court: Virginia Court Of Appeals, Judge: Raphael, Filed On: September 17, 2024, Case #: 1427-23-2, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Firearms
J. Lambert finds that the trial court improperly granted defendant’s motion to suppress methamphetamine, fentanyl and a firearm confiscated from his vehicle, along with statements made to law enforcement. The error was due to an incorrect standard, focusing on the absence of a clear traffic violation rather than probable cause. The case is remanded to reevaluate suppression of evidence. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Lambert, Filed On: September 13, 2024, Case #: 6D23-3742, Categories: Criminal Procedure, drug Offender, evidence
J. van Cleef overturns the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless search of her car in a possession of a controlled substance case. A police detective's testimony that he observed defendant receiving a box from an individual he suspected of narcotics dealing and that the transaction was consistent with a drug deal is not sufficient to establish probable cause to search defendant’s car. Defendant's consent to a second search of her car and a search of the box does not remove the taint of the first, nonconsensual search of the car. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: van Cleef, Filed On: September 10, 2024, Case #: 06-23-00205-CR, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
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J. Fearing finds that defendant was properly convicted of delivering hydrocodone and fentanyl, which the state argues contributed to another woman's death. Although the trial court did err by allowing the state to introduce evidence that defendant did not visit the other woman's parents after her death to make the argument that defendant felt guilty, this act does not qualify as prosecutorial misconduct because the prosecutor had a good faith argument for introducing that evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Fearing, Filed On: September 10, 2024, Case #: 39411-5, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Prosecutorial Misconduct
J. Hardiman finds that the district court properly followed procedure during defendant’s drug-trafficking conspiracy trial and conviction. The Government gave defendant sufficient notice for it to present evidence, and defendant intentionally relinquished his right to pursue suppression motions that he had previously withdrawn. Affirmed.
Court: 3rd Circuit, Judge: Hardiman, Filed On: September 6, 2024, Case #: 22-3022, Categories: Criminal Procedure, drug Offender, evidence
J. Welbaum finds a four-month delay between defendant's arrest on drug possession charges and his eventual trial did not violate his speedy trial rights. Defendant was not incarcerated during the delay, while the court was required to issue numerous continuances as a result of a highly congested docket and several positive Covid-19 tests. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: September 6, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-3425, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Speedy Trial
J. Rambin upholds defendant’s conviction of fentanyl possession. Defendant argued the evidence was insufficient to show he knowingly possessed the fentanyl. Law enforcement found the fentanyl under the driver’s seat of a car defendant was driving that had several other people in it, and defendant testified he had no idea the fentanyl was in the car. Even though the fentanyl was not in defendant’s exclusive possession, the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s finding that defendant knowingly possessed the fentanyl. The judgment and bill of costs are modified to add and remove certain fees for procedural reasons. Affirmed as modified.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Rambin, Filed On: September 6, 2024, Case #: 06-24-00005-CR, Categories: Criminal Procedure, drug Offender, evidence
J. Smith finds that the lower court properly sentenced defendant for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Defendant argues that state police pulled him over and called a K-9 unit after he refused to allow authorities to search his car even though a warrant check came up clear, and that the dog's alert was not sufficient to establish probable cause. However, the dog's reliability was based on 320 hours of State Police training, monthly training sessions and accuracy rates of 97%. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: September 6, 2024, Case #: 23-3255, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
J. Procaccini finds that defendant was properly convicted of two counts of aggravated first-degree controlled substance crime. Defendant argues that the state did not prove that he was "within immediate reach of the firearm" because it was in the locked glove compartment in his car while he was sitting in the driver's seat with the key to the glove compartment in the ignition. To be within immediate reach of the firearm "does not require instant accessibility." Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Procaccini, Filed On: August 28, 2024, Case #: A22-1570, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Firearms
J. Smith finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl. The trial court did not err in excluding statements from defendant’s close friend, who pleaded guilty to the same charges, regarding defendant’s lack of knowledge about the drugs in the vehicle. The fact that the two are close friends diminishes the trustworthiness of the statements, as does the fact that the physical evidence does not corroborate those statements. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: August 23, 2024, Case #: 23-2280, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Conspiracy
J. Parraguirre grants the petition for a writ of mandamus challenging the denial of a motion to dismiss a criminal indictment. Defendant was arrested after officers found meth and heroin in a bathroom during a warrantless compliance check executed according to terms of his house arrest on unrelated charges. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss after officers failed to introduce bodycam evidence of his cousin admitting to the drug possession or evidence defendant had a private bathroom apart from where the drugs were found. The court dismissed the motion, construing it as an untimely habeas motion. Challenges to evidence violations may be brought via a motion to dismiss and do not have limits like pretrial habeas petitions.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Parraguirre , Filed On: August 22, 2024, Case #: 86847, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
J. Badding finds that defendant was properly denied relief from a sentence enhancement imposed upon his conviction for charges including conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine while in possession of a firearm because evidence proved defendant was in possession of a gun that had been thrown from a car window during a police chase. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Badding, Filed On: August 21, 2024, Case #: 23-0120, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Firearms
J. Rambin overturns defendant’s conviction of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine. The trial court erred by denying defendant’s motion to suppress the methamphetamine as evidence, as it was found as the result of an illegal search. A state trooper stopped defendant for driving without a driver’s license, but he only initiated the search after giving defendant a warning for driving without a license. By that point, the stop was over, making the search illegal. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Rambin, Filed On: August 21, 2024, Case #: 06-23-00149-CR, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
J. Colloton finds that a lower court properly convicted defendant for unlawful possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Defendant argues that the lower court erred in denying his motion to dismiss evidence seized during an unlawful search of his vehicle. However, the government sufficiently shows that a Walmart employee, who escorted defendant to his vehicle in his personal wheelchair to find his lost phone, alongside an off-duty police officer serving as a security guard, spotted a revolver and a latex glove containing cocaine under the cushion of the chair. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Colloton, Filed On: August 16, 2024, Case #: 2024-UKSC-27, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
J. Booth finds that the appeals court properly vacated defendant’s convictions for various drug charges. The appeals court correctly determined that defendant “preserved his objection to the trial court’s failure to undertake the necessary process required by our case law when considering the admission of hearsay statements contained within an extended interview or narrative under the declaration against penal interest exception.” Affirmed.
Court: Supreme Court of Maryland, Judge: Booth, Filed On: August 13, 2024, Case #: C-22-CR-19-554, Categories: drug Offender, evidence
J. Stegall finds that a lower court properly denied the former inmate's motion for summary judgment for compensation after spending four years in prison for a felony offense that was ultimately reversed. After the reversal, the state dropped the charges and chose not to pursue a retrial. Defendant's trial was reversed because of a Fourth Amendment violation, not because he was innocent of the crime. He has failed to put forth evidence that he was actually innocent. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Stegall, Filed On: August 9, 2024, Case #: 125740, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
J. Lee finds the district court properly revoked defendant's supervised release. Defendant tested positive for meth during his 60-month term of supervised release after being released from a long prison term. The probation office referred defendant to a recovery center where he tested positive for meth again. His substance abuse treatment provider recommended an intensive outpatient program, which the office endorsed. Defendant failed to participate in the treatment program. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee , Filed On: August 6, 2024, Case #: 23-1968, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Parole
J. Chapman upholds defendant’s convictions of burglary, resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance. Defendant argued the trial court erred in admitting as evidence a bag of methamphetamine that was found in defendant’s pocket when he was arrested, claiming it was found as a result of an unconstitutional search. Appellate review is not available because defendant affirmatively stated to the trial court that he had no objection to the bag being entered into evidence and even used it in his defense.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Chapman, Filed On: August 6, 2024, Case #: WD86395, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
Per curiam, the Connecticut Court of Appeals finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of intent to sell illicit drugs as opposed to the lesser charge of possession. Defendant dropped individually packaged small amounts of narcotics and ran into the restroom where he was arrested attempting to swallow more of the individual packages of narcotics. The state presented a body of circumstantial evidence along with the individual packaging of the drugs to build a case that is sufficient for a conviction of intent to sell. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 2, 2024, Case #: AC46058, Categories: drug Offender, evidence
J. Hellman reverses the trial court's denial of defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from the warranted search of her apartment. The affidavit did not establish probable cause to search the apartment because it did not establish a sufficient nexus between defendant's cotenant's drug activity and the apartment. Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Hellman, Filed On: July 31, 2024, Case #: A177892, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
J. May finds the state presented a sufficient chain of custody to support admission of the victim’s autopsy report and toxicology used to convict defendant of Level 1 felony dealing in a controlled substance (suboxone) resulting in death. Sufficient evidence demonstrates that the blood drawn by hospital staff from the victim was the same blood tested. Affirmed.
Court: Indiana Court Of Appeals, Judge: May, Filed On: July 31, 2024, Case #: 23A-CR-03115, Categories: drug Offender, evidence
J. Soto finds a lower court did not err in convicting defendant for capital murder. Defendant raised a number of issues with his conviction, including arguing that statements he made in his interrogation should have been suppressed on the grounds that “they were not freely and voluntarily made due to his use of methamphetamine and muscle relaxants,” but in a precedential case, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined to suppress the confession of a person who claimed he was “sleep-deprived and intoxicated.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: July 31, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00304-CR, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Murder
J. McDonald vacates a defendant’s conviction after an expert witness used a dubious testing protocol to identify a substance as marijuana. The defendant claims the expert used a testing protocol that state law enforcement disavowed as unreliable several months before trial. The trial court erroneously declared the expert’s reliability was an issue for the jury, but reliability is a threshold gatekeeping matter for the court, which should have recognized the protocol was flawed. Reversed.
Court: South Carolina Court of Appeals, Judge: McDonald, Filed On: July 31, 2024, Case #: 2019-001246, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Experts
J. Loken finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant for possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Defendant was not entitled to suppress evidence found when the Missouri Western Interdiction & Narcotics Task Force seized his "brick- like" package of heroin in a Greyhound bus, with the help of a drug detection dog. The task force's actions during its drug trafficking investigation were not unconstitutional. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: July 30, 2024, Case #: 23-1055, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
Per curiam, the appellate court finds that defendant was improperly convicted of criminal possession of a controlled substance. Defendant was not found near the drugs, or close enough to be participating in a drug factory operation. Therefore, the trial court improperly applied a drug factory presumption to the facts of the case, and defendant is entitled to a new trial. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: July 26, 2024, Case #: KA 20-00467, Categories: Criminal Procedure, drug Offender, evidence