Illegal “Pat Down” Search: Your Key To A Dismissal

Orange
County drug defense attorney

 

The idea that the police can conduct a pat down search on
anyone they please seems to be ubiquitous. You can barely find an episode of
Cops without seeing a cop randomly perform a pat down search on a person they have
come upon and subsequently arresting that person for drug
possession (possession of a controlled substance) or drug sales.
Cops, as well as the public, seem to believe that the pat down search is
completely within the discretion of the police to do at any time they like, on
whomever they like. But fortunately, this is not the truth. Any drug
possession lawyer in Orange County will tell you that the police do not
have the right to put their hands on people without specific legal
justification. Moreover, if a cop violates this legal principal, evidence that
was obtained by the search can be thrown out and the cop is subject to a civil
lawsuit for violating a person’s civil rights.

So if these bad things can happen to a cop who does an
illegal pat down search WHY do the cops still do them … all the time. Well, to
be honest, the cop doesn’t really care if the defendant’s drug
possession attorney  gets the evidence
thrown out. It doesn’t affect the cop any. And as far as civil liability, well
the cop isn’t really afraid of that either. You see, it takes money to bring a
civil suit against a cop and most of the people the cops search don’t have it.
Those that can afford to sue usually don’t because it takes time and energy
too. So, cops continue doing illegal pat down searches routinely. And if you
have been arrested for drug possession, weapons possession, or any other crime
as a result of an illegal pat down search, then you should call The Law Offices
of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 for a free and confidential telephonic
consultation with an experienced criminal
defense lawyer in Orange County.

The law governing a pat down search can be found in the
landmark case of Terry v. Ohio. In that case, known well by any quailed Irvine criminal
defense lawyer, the U.S. Supreme Court laid down the rule for when a cop
can perform a pat down search on somebody. The Court held that in order for a
pat down search to be legal, the cop must have had:

1)     
A reasonable suspicion

2)     
Based on articulable facts

3)     
That the defendant was engaged in criminal activity and

4)     
Was armed and dangerous.

If these four elements didn’t exist, and the cop who
performed the pat down search didn’t have a warrant or an exception to the
warrant requirement, then your Mission
Viejo criminal defense lawyer may be able to get the evidence against you
suppressed and the charges dismissed. The illegal pat down search leads to
countless arrests for drug possession, drug sales, and weapons charges.
Shamefully, many of the illegal searches go UNCHALENGED and the defendant ends
up pleading guilty to a charge they could have had dismissed.