Search illegal or legal

[Toyota1994]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ca...I'm new to this but here I go I was involved in a motorcycle accident after the incident I've noticed quite a few people around me before the cops and medics arrived so the medic people put me on the stretcher while on the way to the hospital the medic people where asking me a few questions I answered them then after that didn't know what happened they took my personal property so after being in the ER they where gonna do a CT scan by that time I was waking up and then all I heard from the nurse was white powder.after the CT scan was fully awake realizing I was in a room then the cops came in asking me about the illegal substance I said I don't know well any ways was arrested and bailed out got a copy of the situation read the statement and it indicated that the nurse opened up my coin wallet type before they took me to the hospital I didn't have any of my personal property on me

 

[justalayman]

Huh???????

to clarify and this is based entirely on the title:

what search?

 

[Sloop John D]

Generally protections against searches only apply to government agents, like law enforcement officers. If a nurse looked through your bag and discovered contraband the Constitutional protections probably won't apply. If you're being charged with a crime you should speak with an attorney anyway, and they will be able to inform you more about this topic.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ca...I'm new to this but here I go I was involved in a motorcycle accident after the incident I've noticed quite a few people around me before the cops and medics arrived so the medic people put me on the stretcher while on the way to the hospital the medic people where asking me a few questions I answered them then after that didn't know what happened they took my personal property so after being in the ER they where gonna do a CT scan by that time I was waking up and then all I heard from the nurse was white powder.after the CT scan was fully awake realizing I was in a room then the cops came in asking me about the illegal substance I said I don't know well any ways was arrested and bailed out got a copy of the situation read the statement and it indicated that the nurse opened up my coin wallet type before they took me to the hospital I didn't have any of my personal property on me

Dude, that is one long run-on sentence. May I introduce you to the comma (,) and the period (.)?

Huh???????

to clarify and this is based entirely on the title:

what search?

Apparently, OP was unconscious at some point, and the medics on the ambulance or the medical staff at the ER collected his clothing and personal effects and found a "white powdered" substance. I guess they handed the white powder over to the police, who came to the realization that it must have been an illegal substance.

Apparently, OP is denying having had any kind of white powder on his person, as evidenced by the reference to the nurse's statement about having opened up his coin wallet. I'm thinking that he considered that an illegal search. I'm ALSO thinking that the nurse may have been searching his person for some kind of clue that would answer a question about why he seemed so impaired and ill after the accident as part of their patient workup.

As for the legality, I'm thinking that, because they were not acting on behalf of law enforcement, and instead were acting on behalf of their patient to discover anything that might pose a potential medical complication, the search appears to be legal. Of course, in order to tie the illegal substance to the patient as regards possible impairment or being under the influence, the police may have ordered drug toxicology testing.

Dude, all I'm going to say is keep quiet and hire a good attorney. You're going to need one - ESPECIALLY if you were riding under the influence and caused a serious accident.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

It appears it was snowing in CA and OP is in a world of crap over it. I doubt you are going to find 12 people who believe someone decided to plant snow on you as a joke while you were unconscious.

 

[justalayman]

Dude, that is one long run-on sentence. May I introduce you to the comma (,) and the period (.)?



Apparently, OP was unconscious at some point, and the medics on the ambulance or the medical staff at the ER collected his clothing and personal effects and found a "white powdered" substance. I guess they handed the white powder over to the police, who came to the realization that it must have been an illegal substance.

Apparently, OP is denying having had any kind of white powder on his person, as evidenced by the reference to the nurse's statement about having opened up his coin wallet. I'm thinking that he considered that an illegal search. I'm ALSO thinking that the nurse may have been searching his person for some kind of clue that would answer a question about why he seemed so impaired and ill after the accident as part of their patient workup.

As for the legality, I'm thinking that, because they were not acting on behalf of law enforcement, and instead were acting on behalf of their patient to discover anything that might pose a potential medical complication, the search appears to be legal. Of course, in order to tie the illegal substance to the patient as regards possible impairment or being under the influence, the police may have ordered drug toxicology testing.

Dude, all I'm going to say is keep quiet and hire a good attorney. You're going to need one - ESPECIALLY if you were riding under the influence and caused a serious accident.

but he referred to a search. I don't know if he is referring to the action of the nurse (but notice he said "the nurse" opened his coin purse before he was transported AND he specifically referred to the ambulance personnel as "medics" earlier in the statement which makes it such an odd statement to be confusing), the police, or some other entity. Then one has to know why anybody searched anything. If a search is performed at the direction of the police, even if it is a private citizen, if there is no PC or, in cases where there may be PC but no exigent circumstances would not allow a search without first obtaining an actual warrant and no warrant obtained, the results of the search are subject to suppression.

as usual, too many questions, too few answers, to little info

 

[Sloop John D]

I don't know if he is referring to the action of the nurse (but notice he said "the nurse" opened his coin purse before he was transported AND he specifically referred to the ambulance personnel as "medics" earlier in the statement which makes it such an odd statement to be confusing)

I've never worked in a hospital, but I thought it was common practice for medical staff to look through your belongings to find identification. It would seem important to know who you're working on so you can get medical charts, in case the patient has allergies to medications or special health concerns that need to be considered. It's possible the nurse thought he was keeping his ID in his purse.

 

[justalayman]

I've never worked in a hospital, but I thought it was common practice for medical staff to look through your belongings to find identification. It would seem important to know who you're working on so you can get medical charts, in case the patient has allergies to medications or special health concerns that need to be considered. It's possible the nurse thought he was keeping his ID in his purse.

yes, that is one possibility but apparently she/he is a close acquaintance of Doctor Who since she searched the coin purse before OP was transported to the hospital.

Of course a period or comma or two could alter how I read the OP's statements but if he is going to allow me do decide how it is to be punctuated...

 

[davew128]

yes, that is one possibility but apparently she/he is a close acquaintance of Doctor Who since she searched the coin purse before OP was transported to the hospital.

Psychic paper. Gotta love it.

 

[CdwJava]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ca...I'm new to this but here I go I was involved in a motorcycle accident

Was this a solo crash? (i.e. you laid the bike down, ran off the road, hit an object that wasn't another car, etc.)

If not, what did you hit? What was the extent of injury or damage to another party? (Yes, this can be very important in any consideration of a search.)

after the CT scan was fully awake realizing I was in a room then the cops came in asking me about the illegal substance I said I don't know well any ways was arrested and bailed out got a copy of the situation read the statement and it indicated that the nurse opened up my coin wallet type before they took me to the hospital I didn't have any of my personal property on me

First off, nurses don't tend to respond to accident scenes unless part of a critical care flight crew.

Second, the nurse and EMS can certainly check wallets and other items for ID, evidence of medical conditions, medications, contact info to get that info, etc. The police often can, too.

They discovered your dope legally from what little has been read here. You are certainly free to deny that the stuff found in your wallet was an illegal substance, or that you had no idea it was there ... it'd be a stretch, but, you never know. Of course, maybe it was a dissolved aspirin.

Could it have been a controlled substance?

 

[Toyota1994]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ca...I'm new to this but here I go I was involved in a motorcycle accident after the incident I've noticed quite a few people around me before the cops and medics arrived so the medic people put me on the stretcher while on the way to the hospital the medic people where asking me a few questions I answered them then after that didn't know what happened they took my personal property so after being in the ER they where gonna do a CT scan by that time I was waking up and then all I heard from the nurse was white powder.after the CT scan was fully awake realizing I was in a room then the cops came in asking me about the illegal substance I said I don't know well any ways was arrested and bailed out got a copy of the situation read the statement and it indicated that the nurse opened up my coin wallet type before they took me to the hospital I didn't have any of my personal property on me

Ok correction before they took me to the ER somebody had my property. That coin purse was in my back pack so who ever had my back pack had my info,I was in that ER for a while and all I was complaining about was my shoulder was hurting. So I'm pretty sure by that time that they where going to do a CT scan they had my info,I didn't even have anything in my pockets and the nurse stated she found some (meth)in my pants

 

[justalayman]

Unless the meth was found during an actual search either performed by or under the direction of a police agency, the resulting discovery is valid evidence that can be used against you. Even if it was discovered during a search by the police or under their direction, it may be valid evidence. The laws requiring a warrant be obtained prior to a search has exceptions and in your situation, several likely apply.

All you can do at this point is attempt to suppress any discovery of evidence as the facts allow. A lawyer would be a really good idea but even with that, I wouldn't get my hopes up too much.

 

[Ohiogal]

I note he hasn't denied that illegal drugs were present or is disputing that when the nurse found meth in his pants that it was not meth. Interesting. Please get yourself some drug help (intervention, rehab) before you kill someone, OP. Hopefully if you don't get help and do kill someone it will just be you -- suicide by overdose (intentional or not).

 

[latigo]

Dude, that is one long run-on sentence. May I introduce you to the comma (,) and the period (.)?

Apparently, OP was unconscious at some point, and the medics on the ambulance or the medical staff at the ER collected his clothing and personal effects and found a "white powdered" substance. I guess they handed the white powder over to the police, who came to the realization that it must have been an illegal substance.

Apparently, OP is denying having had any kind of white powder on his person, as evidenced by the reference to the nurse's statement about having opened up his coin wallet. I'm thinking that he considered that an illegal search. I'm ALSO thinking that the nurse may have been searching his person for some kind of clue that would answer a question about why he seemed so impaired and ill after the accident as part of their patient workup.

As for the legality, I'm thinking that, because they were not acting on behalf of law enforcement, and instead were acting on behalf of their patient to discover anything that might pose a potential medical complication, the search appears to be legal. Of course, in order to tie the illegal substance to the patient as regards possible impairment or being under the influence, the police may have ordered drug toxicology testing.

Dude, all I'm going to say is keep quiet and hire a good attorney. You're going to need one - ESPECIALLY if you were riding under the influence and caused a serious accident.

“Dude”? How gauche.

What might be the female form of that bit of tasteless slang? “Babe”, “chick”, “broad”, “doll” . . .? Or is it a collective subcultural designation.

 

[quincy]

“Dude”? How gauche.

What might be the female form of that bit of tasteless slang? “Babe”, “chick”, “broad”, “doll” . . .? Or is it a collective subcultural designation.

"Jerk" is a word that works well for both sexes, and it can apply nicely to those who decide to pick apart others' contributions without adding in return anything of value to a thread.

Looking at you here, latigo. . . . . . . . and, now that I think about it, also at myself.