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Illegal search & seizure???????????

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J

ja808505

Guest
Okay, I was in Wisconsin during a summer Music Festival. I had just arrived in town from Minnesota, and I was looking for a parking spot. While driving my car I was pulled over because I had a cracked windshield. The officer came up to my window and asked if I had been drinking. I hadn't so I stated no. He then asked for my Drivers license. I pulled out my license and gave it to him. He looked at the ID and then at me for a coulpe of seconds, then looked up at me and said "Let me see your real ID!" Since it was my real ID I stated so. He then asked me to step out of my car. At this point I still did not know why I had been pulled over because he never told me. I didn't find out it was because of my windshield until after I got out of jail later. Anyway, I stepped out of the car like he asked me. He then asked me to empty my pockets. I did so and pulled out some money and a coule of altoid tins. Next he asked me if I had any dope in the tins. I stated no. Then he asked me to open the tins. When I opened them I reaveled a bunch of pills of excstacy, about 76 to be exact. I was then placed under arrest and searched and 17 more pills were found in my pocket. Is this considered an illegal search. He had no reason to believe I had the drugs on me, and no reason to ask me to step out of the car. The prosecution is going to use the fact that he had ASKED me step out of the car, and he had ME empty my pockets, and he had ME open the tins. In my mind it is the same thing as him doing these things. I don't know about anyone else but when an officer asks you to do something you do it. In this case if I thought I had a choice to not step out, empty my pockets, or open the tins, I would have exercised that choice. They are basically saying I volunteered to do these things and turned myself in. My next question is about false police reports. In the criminal complaint filed against me it said the police report said I had been informed of why I had been pulled over. I had not been informed. It failed to state anything about the ID incident. It said that he asked me if the car was mine and I answered yes, when in fact this never happened, and if it had I would have told him the car was under my mothers name, which it was, this proves that the cop is a lyer. It said that I had red eyes and thats why he pulled me out of my car. It said the officer asked why I had red eyes and I stated I didn't know, and that never happened. Besides it was the end of May and I have hayfever, which would explain IF I HAD red eyes. I wasn't on any drugs at the time. It stated that I told the officer that I had exctasy in the tins BEFORE they were opened, and I didn't. It also said that there was a high influx of drugs and weapons in the area due to the concerts going on, and he uses that as another reason to pull me out of my car and empty my pockets. Is this reason plus the red eye reason probable cause to search me? Is the cracked windshield probable cause to search me? Can this case be thrown out if we can prove the officer lied on the police report? Can the evidence found on me be supressed, or did the officer get past this by asking ME to do everything? Is asking ME to do everything the same as him doing it? It didn't seem like I was given a choice!! Especially when he repeadetly asked me to empty my pockets.
BASICALLY I need to know
-whether or not the search can be considered illegal?
-whether or not he had probable cause to search me?
-if we can get this thrown out because of the false police report?
thank you for your time
and answers
Jesse
 


calatty

Senior Member
Assuming a cracked windshield is a law infraction in Wisconsin, it was legal for the officer to pull you over for the cracked windshield and to ask you to step out. He was also permitted to frisk you, but not search you, for officer safety. Therefore, he conducted an illegal search when he asked you to empty your pockets. Unfortunately, the officer has embellished the facts in his report, and will undoubtedly further embellish them at any hearing on a motion to suppress to ensure that the search is found to be legitimate. Thus he will manufacture probable cause for the search with your red eyes and any other facts he will make up (acting nervous, sweating, slurring speech, dilated pupils), and with your supposedly volunteered statements. It will be difficult, if not impossible, for you to prove that he is lying. Almost invariably, the judge will credit the cop's story over the defendant's, even if the judge knows the cop is lying.
 

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