In many cases, police officers cannot enter a property just because they suspect illegal activity may be occurring. The United States Constitution protects Oregon residents from such illegal searches by police officers. Usually, police either need a search warrant or permission to search from someone who lives in the home.
A judge reviews a complaint for a search warrant and determined whether there is probable cause to issues a warrant. In other words, the police have to show that they have probable cause to think that illegal activity is occurring. The search warrant will then define where a search can be conducted and what the search parameters will be.
According to reports, police in North Portland recently executed a search warrant a home on North Fessenden Street. Police apparently showed up at the house at 5:00 a.m. and conducted the search. In the search, police allege that they found $25,000 in cash and large amounts of drugs. Specifically, police say that they found 228 grams of marijuana, 123 grams of powder cocaine, 188 grams of crack cocaine and 128 grams of heroin.
The two men, ages 52 and 43, who were in the home at the time of the search were arrested on various drug trafficking charges.
Drug trafficking is taken seriously in courts in Oregon and across the country. In some instances, people may even face federal drug charges for trafficking of certain drugs. Therefore, in these cases, search warrants and their proper execution become very important. People facing drug charges need to make sure the search warrant was free from defects and that their rights were protected during a search. If their rights were violated, they may be able to get the charges reduced or dropped.
Source: The Oregonian, "Police arrest 2 men, seize drugs in North Portland raid," Lynne Terry, March 6, 2014
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