How to Challenge Drug Charges Based on an Illegal Search – Orange County Drug Charges

Posted on: September 11th, 2024 by Dod Law

Orange County Drug Charges

Officers can only conduct investigations of a person’s property if they have a warrant or they suspect someone of criminal misconduct. California and the United States at large have laws in place designed to prevent officers from engaging in unreasonable searches. If you fall victim to an unreasonable search and seizure, you can take legal action. Learn more about challenging Orange County drug charges.  

Illegal searches can invalidate any evidence officers find of criminal misconduct. They can also expose you to bias and unreasonable behavior, including abuse from police officers. If you want to fight back against an unreasonable search in Orange County, let our team at Dod Law know – we’re here to protect your rights throughout the entire legal process.

What Laws Protect You From Illegal Search and Seizures?

The Fourth Amendment protects everyday people from unreasonable search and seizures, particularly those motivated by bias. Any government body that wishes to conduct a search of a person’s property must have reason – and often paperwork – with which they may do so.

As such, it’s the Fourth Amendment that protects Orange County residents from illegal searches. Officers may not entire your car, home, or property without a warrant or reasonable cause. If they do, they compromise the validity of their investigation.

Are There Exceptions to the Fourth Amendment?

There are a few exceptions to the Fourth Amendment. Exigent circumstances, or reasonable cause, allow an officer who believes their entry will prevent harm of some kind to investigate someone’s property without a warrant. 

Likewise, anyone who encounters a police officer can consent to a search. That search may prove all-encompassing unless the consenting party limits an officer’s search to a concentrated area. Even if a consentee does constrict an officer’s search, officers may make arrests based on evidence available in plain view.

How Does a Warrant Impact Officers’ Right to Search Your Property for Drugs?

You have the right to insist that an officer obtain a warrant before they investigate your property for drugs. Warrants are legal documents that judges must approve before police officers can investigate a person’s property. Warrants dictate:

• Why officers intend to conduct an investigation
• During what times officers may conduct an investigation
• Where, specifically, officers may conduct an investigation

Officers may not operate outside of the boundaries of a warrant.

How Can You Challenge the Legality of an Officer’s Search for Drugs?

Most – if not all – police officers know that they cannot initiate an investigation into someone’s behavior without a warrant. However, many officers will try to get around warrant regulations by:

• Intimidating someone
• Implying that someone will face more severe criminal consequences if they don’t consent to a search
• Lying about probable cause to conduct a bias-based search of someone’s property

An attorney can bring forward evidence of bias, intimidation, and misrepresentation of the law to invalidate evidence officers try to bring forward after using these strategies.

Officers who submit evidence to a judge discovered during a warrantless search must also present evidence arguing that they had reasonable cause to engage in the search. An attorney can challenge the evidence an officer brings forward.

Challenge Illegal Searches and Seizures Today | Orange County Drug Charges

California police officers do not have blanket permission to search your property for drugs. If officers don’t have a warrant, they must have reasonable suspicion that you or someone with you is actively engaged in drug use or sales. Officers who gather evidence of drug-related crimes after an illegal search and seizure may invalidate their findings’ uses in a criminal case.

You can work with an Orange County criminal defense lawyer at Dod Law to challenge the presentation of any evidence found during an illegal search and seizure. 

To schedule a free consultation with a member of our legal team, call our Santa Ana, Orange County office at (949) 681-7020, San Diego office at (619) 814-5110, and our Vista office at (760) 814-6025.  You can also schedule an appointment by filling out our contact form to discuss the best way forward.