This blog often highlights the importance of an aggressive criminal defense for Oregonians who are facing criminal charges. With the correct defense strategy people can go on to have happy and successful lives following criminal allegations. By presenting a criminal defense people can show that they are innocent of the crime they are accused of. Furthermore, a proper criminal defense will also question the police's conduct during a criminal investigation, the arrest and subsequent questioning.
One important part of any criminal defense strategy should be examining the police's warrant. In many situations, police cannot search a person's property without first obtaining a warrant. If police do not properly obtain a warrant, or search beyond the scope of a warrant then the evidence obtained in the search cannot be used in court.
However, there are certain exceptions to this rule. One major exception is for moving vehicles. Under this exception police do not need a warrant to search a vehicle that they saw moving, they only need probable cause that illegal activity may be occurring. Recently, the Oregon Court of Appeals has broadened this exception even further. They have allowed police to search anything attached to a car -- such as a trailer -- without getting a warrant first.
With these new admissible warrantless searches, people may be charged with more felony crimes as police have more power. For example, if police pull someone over for suspected drunk driving, it may lead to a search. This search can now include the car and anything attached to it -- even if no illegal activity is in plain view in the attachment. If police were to find drugs in the attachment, the person could also face felony drug charges.
This new ruling increases the need for a strong criminal defense in Oregon. As police get new powers, people need to make sure they are protecting their constitutional rights.
Source: The Register-Guard, "Oregon court expands warrantless searches of vehicles," Nigel Duara, July 21, 2013
