What is the name of your state? Oregon
I live in a duplex and am friends with the tenant in the adjoining apartment. We have mutual friends who often park in the driveway when visiting either one of us.
A police officer came by to serve a subpeona on a friend who was staying with me temporarily. He saw a purse sitting next to one of the cars in the driveway and knocked on my neighbors door. She said it wasn't hers and didn't know who it belonged to. A mutual friend went outside and told the officer he would give the purse to it's rightful owner. The officer asked if it was his, and he said no. He told the officer he was certain it belonged to someone in one of the two units and he would take it inside.
Instead, the office took the purse and said the owner would have to come to the police station to claim it. The officer returned later claiming his boss said to bring back a receipt for the purse.
The purse contained no identification, but does have a set of keys that can not be replaced. It also may contain items that could get the claimant arrested on drug charges.
Was the seizure legal since the purse was on private property? No one had reported loosing or finding a purse. Can the contents of the purse be used to charge the claimant with a crime? Can the police use the contents as probable cause to search either unit of the duplex? With no ID in the purse, how can anyone claim the purse? Can anyone request that the keys be returned without claiming ownership of the purse?
The officer may have thought the purse belonged to the person he was trying to subpeona. That, by making her come claim it, she couldn't avoid service. But, it doesn't belong to that person.
Have any legal rights been violated here and what can be done about it?What is the name of your state?
I live in a duplex and am friends with the tenant in the adjoining apartment. We have mutual friends who often park in the driveway when visiting either one of us.
A police officer came by to serve a subpeona on a friend who was staying with me temporarily. He saw a purse sitting next to one of the cars in the driveway and knocked on my neighbors door. She said it wasn't hers and didn't know who it belonged to. A mutual friend went outside and told the officer he would give the purse to it's rightful owner. The officer asked if it was his, and he said no. He told the officer he was certain it belonged to someone in one of the two units and he would take it inside.
Instead, the office took the purse and said the owner would have to come to the police station to claim it. The officer returned later claiming his boss said to bring back a receipt for the purse.
The purse contained no identification, but does have a set of keys that can not be replaced. It also may contain items that could get the claimant arrested on drug charges.
Was the seizure legal since the purse was on private property? No one had reported loosing or finding a purse. Can the contents of the purse be used to charge the claimant with a crime? Can the police use the contents as probable cause to search either unit of the duplex? With no ID in the purse, how can anyone claim the purse? Can anyone request that the keys be returned without claiming ownership of the purse?
The officer may have thought the purse belonged to the person he was trying to subpeona. That, by making her come claim it, she couldn't avoid service. But, it doesn't belong to that person.
Have any legal rights been violated here and what can be done about it?What is the name of your state?