Cell Phone Trouble

What is the name of your state? Utah

Hey my name is mike and im a minor (17) and i live in logan utah. Ive been tokin' for quite some time and ive never been busted. ive always been careful about my habits. recently i lost my cell phone. after days of looking for it, i was called into the school office and had a discussion with the principle and v. principle about how there was a couple of text msgs they found on my phone. ( i think it was actually my ceramics teacher that found it and looked at the msgs and gave it to them). the messages said "mike get us some greens and we'll smoke ya up" and "mike the whitnies need weed" (i have never sold btw). anyway their trying to get me to do a UA and they handed it over to the cops who are now doing an investigation. i freaked out and went home and threw my stuff away and cleaned my room. im just way scared and i dont know what to do. i dont know much about the judicial system but i was wondering if they're going be able to expel me ( they said they might) and if they were legaly able to search my cell phone (biggest concern) and if they will be able to get a warent to search my room. im sorry if this is all really confusing to read, im so scared right now and i cant even think straight. any help would be greatly appreciated.

*Mike*

Once you lost it any expectation of privacy that you might have had for the phone and it's contents were likely lost. Plus, the school officials are not the police and are not generally subject to the same standard for search and seizure that the police might have been.

Once the phone was lost, they had an obligation to try and find the owner. A search of the phone was the best way to do it ... then after they found the messages the cat was out of the bag.

Yes, they can probably suspend or expel you for bringing this business to the school, and yes, the police might be able to use the text messages to help obtain a warrant.

If you are going to be charged, you had best get an attorney.

- Carl

i understand that they would try and find the owner. but in order to view my text messages you would have to go threw a few steps that take you to them. you would in no doubt have to know you were going to search the persons text, so there was no possible way they could have "stumbled" upon the text messages. does this hellp me at all. im inosent in this whole matter, i dont deal and i wasnt looking for the drugs someone else was. its to bad they made a mistake.

im sorry but i forgot to add that the morning they found my cell phone i went in to the teachers classroom who found the cell phone and she told me that she hadnt seen it. this means that she was either lying and had the cell phone or that after i left she found it and searched my text messages and then sent it to the office. just more brainstorming to prove my innocense.

Akuma said:

im sorry but i forgot to add that the morning they found my cell phone i went in to the teachers classroom who found the cell phone and she told me that she hadnt seen it. this means that she was either lying and had the cell phone or that after i left she found it and searched my text messages and then sent it to the office. just more brainstorming to prove my innocense.

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And what innocence would that be? You admitted here that you smoke a controlled substance.

Also - the school acts in loco parentis (i.e. like a parent) when you're in school. Your parents would also have the right to search your text messages (and emails and voicemails and chat logs and any other damned thing).

Tell your parents about this mess and have them help you find a lawyer.

Akuma said:

i understand that they would try and find the owner. but in order to view my text messages you would have to go threw a few steps that take you to them. you would in no doubt have to know you were going to search the persons text, so there was no possible way they could have "stumbled" upon the text messages. does this hellp me at all. im inosent in this whole matter, i dont deal and i wasnt looking for the drugs someone else was. its to bad they made a mistake.

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I don't buy that someone just texted you on the off chance that you might have some marijuana. They sent you the message because they had a reason to believe that you DID have some to give away or sell. Sorry, but people just don't make random calls or text messages to assorted friends and acquaintances hoping they might happen to deal.

And the search was almost certainly lawful given the circumstances. Once you lost it, your "right" to any privacy on the phone was mostly gone. Maybe if the police had found it first ... but they didn't - the school did. And the school is NOT subject to the same rules that the police are.

Now, if you end up getting charged, I suppose you can try to sue the school for a violation of your privacy ... though I doubt that your parents are going to want to pay for an attorney to provide that kind of entertainment to the court.

- Carl

So this is where situation stands. It was wrong for them to search my phone because come to find out my teacher found my phone AFTER I had asked her if she had seen it and then decided look through the text messagees. The police had not near enough evidence to get a warrant or even attempt to make a worthwhile investigation. The girls that decided to text my phone were questioned and stated that someone they knew had my phone number and said that it might be possible to obtain the substance from me. During this whole situation the teacher who discoverd the phone decided to make an investigation by herself (what a genius) which included asking me repeatedly if I smoke or sold marijuana. When she couldn't get anything out of me she decided to do the same to people she had seen me assosciate with. I heard about it and decided to have these people write statments of what they experienced. I presented copied statments to the principle and told him that I had been counseled to either file for harrassment or report this to the board of education. He sketched and asked me politely to handle the matter within the school. He told me he would have a stern talk with the teacher and later that day we all met and she apologized for the whole matter. I quess technically this wasnt likely to happen but I played the game right and came out a winner.

I thank you all for your advice ( even stealth2, I can't say belizbreeze's statement was even relevant to the topic but hey maybe some other time ).

It was wrong for them to search my phone because come to find out my teacher found my phone AFTER I had asked her if she had seen it and then decided look through the text messagees

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Well, as an FYI, "wrong" does not make it illegal. And I doubt it was.

And ... what came of everything that happened after you: "freaked out and went home and threw [your] stuff away and cleaned [your] room"?

What exactly did you throw out? I suspect it wasn't your dirty socks and underwear, but stuff you suspected might get you in trouble with the law.

Take this as a wake up call and straighten things up before it really does come back to bite you in the rump-roast.

- Carl

Your screwed, hopefully you don't get prosecuted for distribution or lose your drivers license for being so nonchalant with you dope dealing pronouncements on Internet websites and customers text messages. Better get NORMAL to refer a lawyer for your defense, good luck.

Take this as a wake up call and straighten things up before it really does come back to bite you in the rump-roast.

- Carl

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My thoughts exactly Carl.

Bill you don't even know what your talking about. I could walk up to a cop and tell him that I smoke weed and he couldnt do shiz. Read up on your facts pal.

Akuma said:

My thoughts exactly Carl.

Bill you don't even know what your talking about. I could walk up to a cop and tell him that I smoke weed and he couldnt do shiz. Read up on your facts pal.

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Akuma said:

i dont know much about the judicial system but i was wondering if they're going be able to expel me ( they said they might) and if they were legaly able to search my cell phone (biggest concern) and if they will be able to get a warent to search my room. im sorry if this is all really confusing to read, im so scared right now and i cant even think straight. any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Better get NORMAL to refer a lawyer for your defense, good luck.

Akuma said:

Bill you don't even know what your talking about. I could walk up to a cop and tell him that I smoke weed and he couldnt do shiz. Read up on your facts pal.

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Wellll ... I wouldn't quite go THAT far. It depends on what state you are in, and just how far the officer wants to push the issue!

In my state you would have confessed to what is essentially an infraction, so other than make you do a sobriety test, there might not be a lot to do. But! Making that comment would likely result in additional scrutiny and a possible pat-down for more marijuana. And being under 18 (I presume - since you are still in high school ... though you could be 18) that would give even greater cause.

So, while I presume you know that your comment was an overstatement, never assume that all because there is not an obvious action that can be taken that a cop can NOT take SOME action. Someone like me has been around a lot and can articulate quite a bit to perform some lawful "messing around" with someone if I choose to.

And I certainly hope you take heed of this second chance as you indicated.

Good luck.

- Carl

Couldn't a judge view that as probable cause for a wire tap warrant on the cell phone for suspicion of drug distribution. There may be some motivation for this since he probably is supplying it to minors.

<Bill> said:

Couldn't a judge view that as probable cause for a wire tap warrant on the cell phone for suspicion of drug distribution. There may be some motivation for this since he probably is supplying it to minors.

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It could be used as one item on the affidavit. our judges around here probably wouldn't sign off on the text messages alone. But, if we could get at least one other student to admit to us that he got some marijuana from him, we could. it might be easier in Utah - they are a little more conservative there. In CA marijuana is the state herb - and the only crime that all records of which are destroyed after one year, I believe (it might be two ... it's been a while).

- Carl