Marijuana Lawyer – Canton Lawyer – Dog Search
We obtained a fantastic result in the 35th District Court for the Township of Canton, Michigan last month. Our client was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. If convicted of these crimes he would lose his driver license, lose his financial aid, and have a drug crime permanently on his criminal record. We obtained a straight dismissal and our client walked out of the 35th District Courthouse a free man after Judge Plakas suppressed the seizure of the marijuana due to an illegal dog search preformed by canton police.
If you have been charged with a drug crime in Canton Michigan, or any crime in Michigan, contact Canton lawyer, Aaron J. Boria at (734) 453-7806 or email directly at BoriaLaw@gmail.com. Unlike many attorneys who take in as many cases as possible, Aaron J. Boria, PLLC, takes on a limited number of cases each month to ensure that our clients get the best representation possible. To see if our firm is the right fit for you and you are the right client for us contact our office today.
Marijuana Lawyer – Canton Criminal Charges
Our client was driving a late model vehicle with tinted windows, basically a cop magnet. The car caught the eye of a Canton police officer near Michigan Avenue and I-275 South. Shortly after our client got onto the expressway the Canton officer initiated a traffic stop.
The reason for the stop was the tinted windows, but we all know it’s a pretest to pull over someone that is likely low income and young as evidenced by an older car with tint (a person that can be easily jammed up by police). Either way, a stop for windows that are tinted in the front of the vehicle is a good one so the stop will stand as a good one.
The Canton Officer approached the vehicle, asked for our client to provide the proper documents and then, without having any evidence of a crime being committed, asked if there were any drugs in the vehicle. When our client looked away and said, “No”, the Canton Officer thought he was lying. The Canton Officer then asked if he could search the vehicle and our client legally denied the officer’s request. At this point, the legal thing for the officer to do would have been to issue a ticket for the tinted windows or send him on his way. Instead the officer chose to violate our clients Fourth Amendment Right against illegal search and seizer and called for a K-9 unit to come.
The K-9 unit came and the dog his on the car for drugs. This was also a point of contention because our client claimed that the dog never hit the way the officer claimed the dog did, and that the police just started searching the vehicle after the dog walked around the car a few times. Strange enough, neither vehicle has a working camera that night. That’s right, two Canton Police vehicles, both equipped with recording devices failed to record the incident – strange.
After the officers searched the vehicle they uncovered marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Our client was arrested and taken to the Canton jail where he had to get photographed and fingerprinted and then post a bond to leave.
He was issued a ticket for marijuana and drug paraphernalia that directed him to appear at the 35th District Court located in Plymouth Michigan.
Canton Lawyer – Drug Lawyer – Illegal Dog Search
The 35th District Court has jurisdiction over the Township of Canton, Plymouth City, Plymouth Township, Northville City, and Northville Township.
There are three judges at the 35th District Court and they are Judge Gerou, Judge Lowe, and Judge Plakas. Our client’s matter was assigned in front of Judge Plakas.
After we appeared for the pre trial on this matter is was clear that the Canton Township Prosecutor would not be dismissing the case because we believed that there was an illegal search by brining in the dog. We filed a motion to dismiss and demanded an evidentry hearing on the issue where both police officers would have to show up and testify.
The challenge to the violation of the Fourth Amendments protection against illegal search and seizure was based on a recent case called Rodriguez v. United States decided just his past year.
Here is a quick summary of the Rodriguez case:
In Rodriguez the United State Supreme Court held that a police stop exceeding the time needed to handle the matter for which the stop was made violates the Constitution’s shield against unreasonable seizures. A seizure justified only by a police-observed traffic violation, therefore, becomes unlawful if it is prolonged beyond the time reasonably required to complete the mission of issuing a ticket for the violation. In Rodriguez, Police Officer Struble observed a motor vehicle, driven by Mr. Rodriguez, veer onto the shoulder of a highway in violation of law. On that basis, Officer Struble conducted a traffic stop. He asked Mr. Rodriguez a few questions about the incident, and gathered his license, registration, and proof of insurance. After running a records check on Mr. Rodriguez, Officer Struble returned to the vehicle, asked the passenger, Scott Pollman, for his driver’s license, and began to question him about where the men were coming from and where they were going. Officer Struble then ran a record check on Mr. Pollman, called for a second officer, and wrote a warning ticket for Mr. Rodriguez for driving on the shoulder. Officer Struble returned a third time to the vehicle to issue the written warning and returned the documents obtained from the two men by 12:27 or 12:28 a.m.
Next, Mr. Struble asked for permission to walk his dog around the vehicle. When Mr. Rodriguez refused consent, Officer Struble instructed him to exit the vehicle and wait for the second officer to arrive. At 12:33 a.m., only minutes later, a deputy sheriff arrived and Officer Struble led his dog around the vehicle. The dog made an indication that the vehicle contained drugs, and a subsequent search revealed methamphetamine. Seven or eight minutes had passed between the time Officer Struble issued the written warning and when the dog indicated the presence of drugs. Rodriguez was arrested.
In Court, Rodriguez moved to suppress the evidence of the methamphetamine seized from his vehicle on the ground that the officer had prolonged the traffic stop without reasonable suspicion to conduct a dog sniff. The court vacated the judgment.
Similar to the Rodriguez case, our case in the 35th District Court out of Canton was almost identical. The police stopped our client for a traffic infraction and held him longer than necessary to write the ticket without reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a dog search and find drugs. Judge Plakas Agreed with us and both the possession of marijuana charge and the drug paraphernalia charge were dismissed.
Our client walked out of the 35th District Court a free man. His bond was returned to him and his fingerprints with arrest card were destroyed.
35th District Court Lawyer – Canton Lawyer
Charged with a crime out of the 35th District Court? Canton Police accusing you of a crime? Call Canton lawyer, Aaron J. Boria. We fight for our clients and we obtain results that other lawyers simply cannot.
Call today (734) 453-7806 or email us at BoriaLaw@gmail.com
