actually, that's exactly how it works billy bob... they can surely confiscate anything the find in the search, but unless it was listed on the warrant as what they were looking for, they can't use it against you in a court of law, and therefore can't be charged with it..
if it's not listed on the warrant, it's an illegal search and seizure at that point and would get thrown right out of court if they tried to press charges on you..
I'm certain this is NOT true.
Warrants specify what police are permitted to search for.
However, if cops are conducting an otherwise legal search, anything they find along the way is "fair game", even if its not detailed in their search warrant. If they find evidence of another crime, absolutely that evidence can be admitted into a court of law.
The key here is LEGAL. If the warrant specifies that the cops are looking for a stolen truck, for example, then they can't look in your sock drawers, because obviously you can't hide a truck in there.
But if they're looking for a handgun, on the other hand, then they can go through drawers, look under the bed, pry loose floorboards, and pretty much look anywhere they think a gun might be hidden. Along the way, if they find an ounce of weed, you better believe that evidence would be admissible in a court of law and you could go to jail for it.
In this case, I have no idea what was written in the OP's warrant. Did he read it? Does he have a copy of it? Hell. . .is he even sure there WAS a warrant? Cops lie all the time, and I wouldn't put it past them to lie about having a warrant. In fact, reading the below, they probably didn't have one at all:
i was already cuffed in a car when they actually did it. these dudes swooped up on me at a business parking lot which is on the other side of alley that i live. i was there ony to have lunch with one of the salon owners. as i pulled into the parking space, just in front of her salon, i had officers,some in uniform, some undercover surrounding my vehicle..
they started to question me about the whereabouts of my buddy. as if i had any clue!? cant give too much info on what their investigation was about but then one of the cops said that they were gonna search the pad. well of course im gonna give them a hard time about giving them any info, even though i didnt know shit, i end up cuffed, in the back of a unit, and we go around the business plaza back to my alley and we came up to my place and i see my door already open. They took my fucken keys out of my ignition! anyway, obviously they seen my grow, lookin for my buddy, during their investigation. i spent a few nights locked up at the station. i was never put under arrest, they questioned me and when they released me, they gave me this stupid paper i had to sign that i was only detained, not arresteded!!!and off i go! Its been almost a week since that day. the person they were lookin for turned himself in with his lawyer yesterday. i wanna know since i had nothing to do with the investigation in the first place, what happens of me. I lost a few days of work, my shit gets ripped off, lots of hard work just shitted on!!! to all fellow growers what do i make of this situation??? thaks for all your inputs!
OK, its all clear now.
They were looking for your friend. My guess is that they had a warrant FOR HIS ARREST, but not to search his (your) property. Did you SEE the search warrant? Do you have a copy of it? If NOT, that's a big fat red flag that they didn't have one.
Without one, they would not legally be entitled to look through your property.
They probably did so anyway, hoping to catch your friend. Had they caught him, they could have just claimed they saw him through a window, at which point they wouldn't need a further warrant to get him.
Anyway, while presumably searching ILLEGALLY they found your grow. Then. . .even though they couldn't actually press charges for it (since their search was illegal), they decided to sweat you for it, hoping you'd give up your friend.
Were you under arrest? DAMN RIGHT you were. If they held you at the station for more than 24 hours and didnt let you leave, then BY DEFINITION you were "under arrest".
Of course without probable cause your arrest was illegal too. . .which is why they made you sign a piece of paper saying you were just "detained". After all, if you were just "detained" and you agree that its what happened, well you can't sue them for false arrest, illegal search and seizure, etc.
The fact that you were knee-deep in illegal weed is what let them get away with this. Because they know you were probably scared s@#tless, that you probably aren't going to file false arrest charges against them, sue them for illegally searching your place, and you can't do jack about the weed they destroyed.
Annoying, but I don't think there is anything you could have done here to prevent this. The cops weren't going to let you keep your weed in any case, and if you pissed them off, they might have figured out a way to obtain probable cause and get a warrant, in which case you'd have been actually busted.
The only thing I can say is that "next time" you're illegally growing, try to stay away from homicide suspects! If cops take you downtown, keep your mouth shut and make sure you get a lawyer to represent you ASAP. Don't sign any papers without a lawyer present.
I don't think the outcome would have been different here, but a good lawyer would probably have gotten you out of "detention" within one day, instead of several days.
