Illegal Search

We live in Cass County ND - Question - My son (15) was at a friend's house. There was no party or loud noise going on. There had been a truck earlier doing donuts in the street (snow & ice) - The truck left - shortly afterwards two people were starting to leave - opened door, saw police car and closed door. My son ran out the back door, as he left the bottom step he was grabbed by a police officer (there were 4 police officers present in the backyard-which does not have a fence). My son was immediately handcuffed and searched. They did not ask for consent. Once marijuana was found on him, no weapons, he was placed in the back of the squad car. About an hour later we were called to the police station, told our son was going to detention and that we could not see him for 24 hours (This turned out to be false).The police officer stated that they had been responding to a report of a truck doing donuts and that they witnessed the driver of the truck exit the truck and enter the residence that my son had exited and that they felt they had a right due to this to be in the backyard. This has been proven by police reports that there was no truck found when police arrived.

My son is now up on charges for possession of a controlled substance. It appears that there was not probable cause to search my son, let alone handcuff him upon exiting a house. We are seeking an attorney as we feel that this is a suppression issue. Looking to see if the information I have given leads you to also believe the same. Thanks!

So, your kid was running from the police and was caught, and you think he shouldn't have been searched? I like how you are not mad he had pot on him, only mad that he was caught. You must be a GREAT mom. Did he steal the pot from you?

okamsrazor said:

So, your kid was running from the police and was caught, and you think he shouldn't have been searched? I like how you are not mad he had pot on him, only mad that he was caught. You must be a GREAT mom. Did he steal the pot from you?

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How can you say such an awful thing??? After all, it was mom in the truck doing the donuts, how the hell was he supposed to get it from her, anyway?


(And since when is there snow and ice in July?)

Sorry if you assumed there were no consequences. He also was in detention over the weekend, which was a very big wakeup call for him. He stated at the detention hearing that he had a lot of time to think while in detention and that he didn't want his life to go down this path. We immediately brought him in for a CD evaluation - had a UA and came back clean. We also had him attend CD awareness treatment on our own (not court ordered). He was also grounded and had privileges taken away. After this happened, his grades went back on track, in fact honor roll status. Sorry he did not get the marijuana from me, although I could legally get it since I am undergoing cancer treatment, however, I am opposed to the drug. I am looking for some honest advice, I'm sorry that you chose to give me a knee-jerk reaction and made some pretty harsh assumptions.

Clarification even though you obviously think this is funny - It was in Feb. We just now Rec'd notice.

Why would you run from a house when there were cops outside and you were in possession? There is more to the story than that. Any fool (even the cops) would know that innocent people don't run.

I am not going to assume like everyone else that you condone his activities, and I understand that you would have wanted to take care of it yourself, rather than in the courtroom.

As far as the legallity of searching, they obviously had to have probable cause. It all depends on how much running he did, what he consented to, and what he said. Afterall, "you have the right to remain silent". Being a minor though, it seems kind of shady. Consult a lawyer.

Thanks for not assuming what another did without knowing or even asking first the situation. Maybe I should not of said running, that was more than likely my wording, versus my son's. He did not run for the police. Like I said he came out the back door on his friend's deck and headed down the stairs. When he looked up at the bottom of the 4 steps were 4 police officers and one grabbed him right as he was coming off the last step. He was immediately handcuffed and searched and no he was not asked, nor gave permission.

To answer your question of "Why would you run from a house when there were cops outside and you were in possession" - Panic, inexperience, not obviously being experienced with the substance or the situation. Initially my son was questioning himself over and over of why he ran, why he was "stupid" as he put it when the other kids stayed in the house and "ditched the stuff". Obviously with the wrong crowd and not hanging out with those kids anymore

The "more" to the story that I did find out from an attorney is that in the town we live in people normally don't challenge anything that the police do (always worried about retaliation - smaller community). Anyway, we were told that the police in this town know that and so do cross the line because they usually get away with it. Example - telling us that we would not be able to see our son for 24 hours. When in fact we find out (which we were informed by detention staff - that the police were well aware of this) is that we did not have to wait until the following night. In fact we would have been able to see our son as soon as he was processed into detention, it's the law.

We are not looking to have our son get "away" with his actions. We would have agreed to handle this informally (as they call it) in front of a juvenile officer of the court with probation, community service, etc. However, we have been told that it will not be handled informally and we will have to go through the court system, which does mean hiring an attorney and paying the $2,000 for his services. Our son will work to pay the cost back but in the mean time we will need to pay the $ up front. With all of my medical expenses it has made this even more difficult. I was just looking for an objective and possibly educated opinion on the likelihood of challenging the case due to illegal search as the attorney implied, as challenging will cost additional money. Thanks for your feedback

Did you get a report of the incident? That is vital to your defense. Anything your son says is "hearsay" as far as the law is concerned.

my response:
but see JohnnyN you did assume on the BAC for your under age drinking charge remember you assumed it was higher then .02 whe it really was .73 man when are you ging to figure out what assume means? let me break it down for you cause i know 16 year olds have a hard time understanding things assume means making an "ASS out of U and ME...

I was being specific to this case when I said "I'm not going to assume", and I posted that after I posted the UD one. I thought that was common sense. Also, .73 > .02, in case you didn't realise that already.

Guess who made an ass out of you and......well just you.

JohnnyN said:

my response:
but see JohnnyN you did assume on the BAC for your under age drinking charge remember you assumed it was higher then .02 whe it really was .73 man when are you ging to figure out what assume means? let me break it down for you cause i know 16 year olds have a hard time understanding things assume means making an "ASS out of U and ME...

I was being specific to this case when I said "I'm not going to assume", and I posted that after I posted the UD one. I thought that was common sense. Also, .73 > .02, in case you didn't realise that already.

Guess who made an ass out of you and......well just you.

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Johnny BOY i was pointing out that you do assume things and ty very much i know the laws as far as the alcohol limit....

adesire2Bhappy said:

Johnny BOY i was pointing out that you do assume things and ty very much i know the laws as far as the alcohol limit....

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Pardon me. I should have said "I'm not going to assume here". Maybe that would have made all the difference. Maybe then I wouldn't be a total dumbass.

JohnnyN said:

Pardon me. I should have said "I'm not going to assume here". Maybe that would have made all the difference. Maybe then I wouldn't be a total dumbass.

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what do you think sponge bob square pants is thata good possibility?


PS why are you calling yourself a dumbass? i said you made an ass out of U and ME hell as far as i know you might be a smart ass.

Dakota..... personally, I think your boy's out of luck. His actions indicated flight from the authorities - the cops pulled up in front, and he took off in back. He WAS under the influence. Now he's going to have to pay the piper.

He doesn't have to be read his rights unless he's being interrogated, AFAIK. He can be arrested and taken in w/o Miranda rights being read.

stealth2 said:

Dakota..... personally, I think your boy's out of luck. His actions indicated flight from the authorities - the cops pulled up in front, and he took off in back. He WAS under the influence. Now he's going to have to pay the piper.

He doesn't have to be read his rights unless he's being interrogated, AFAIK. He can be arrested and taken in w/o Miranda rights being read.

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Actually We live behind this house and one house over; our son ALWAYS takes this way home. He was not under the influence, maybe you didn't see the posting where we had him tested as soon as he was out of detention and his UA was clean, plus he was given a breathalyzer at the station before we were called and it registered no alcohol at all. He did not say anything except to say that it wasn't his. I didn't mention that part before but as I have seen from some of these postings, it's useless to try and state things of this matter as most people that respond give knee-jerk responses, not educated at all. In fact the other juvenile whose stuff it did belong to came forward (due to another conscientious parent) and admitted to this and is willing to testify if need be (we already have it in notarized wiring) that it was his not our son's. As far as an earlier statement of what he said - he was handcuffed immediately and searched.

We have already been told today that his rights were violated and now the States Attorney wants to plea bargain as with the evidence that was presented right before court to them they realized there was a big suppression issue as I first was asking about. However, since they originally refused to handle this informally with the consequences that we were fine with, we are proceeding even though fewer consequences are being offered now. The reason, people make mistakes, people sometimes make very stupid mistakes and some on occasion get enough of a wake up call that they really do learn a lesson. With this other boy coming forward we do not want to settle out of court now if it means this could be on his on his Perm. record.