Just wondering wut the boys in blue need to be able to obtain a search warrant to search the area around your house(even if its not your property) or your house in general? Do they have to let you know first?
and what evidence do they need to charge you for marijuana cultivation?
People I know just got busted and might say something like i 'might' be growing...can they go on that?
+rep for knowledgable and VERY helpful answers...
As has been stated, they can get a warrant on the flimsiest of pretenses. They can use any means they want to enter your house or property. You can only fight back
AFTER THE FACT!!! The first thing any good (sic) attorney will do is attack the valididty of the warrant, and the veracity of the probable cause.
Generally, they would need a reason to be suspicious of you in the first place. Take, for instance, these "people" you know might rat you out to save thier own miserable skins. Information given the police by someone already facing charges is suspect. They will do or say anything to get out of a jam and the courts wil usually recognize this. They would need a bit more than that to get a warrant that will hold up to scrutiny. Another thing to consider is that the cop only has to
BELIEVE, that a warrant exists (doesn't actually have to have it or even see it), and that he is acting in good faith. Now they know what an attorney can fight, no judge wants to be overturned, or go before the judicial review. They will usually make certain that they are right before acting. Not always, tho.........
If the property is NOT yours, then you aint got a leg to stand on. All they need is the owners permission to search. You didn't leave your wallet there did you? Or any chip sacks, cigarette butts, soda cans etc. with your fingerprints?
Let me say this. They can CHARGE you with anything they want. What you need to worry about is what can they prove to CONVICT you.They will have to put you there at the scene with the plants to show that you had knowledge of them. This can be anything I mentioned above, shoe prints, etc. They can find all the plants they can burn, but without evidence that you were there, or had knowledge of them, don't sweat it.
THEY will have to prove that the plants were yours, or that you knew about them, and helped tend them,
YOU don't have to say anything except "Talk to the suit, he's the answer man".
The REALLY fucked up thing thats going on right now, and will only become more prevalent, is how they are learning to use their new-found powers to label drugs, gangs, internet porn, child molesters, and a host of other things as a "terroristic" threat. While I agree that some of those things NEED addressing, This piece of legislation is RIPE for abuse of power. The PATRIOT Act gives the powers that be (LEO) almost unlimited powers of search and seizure if the investigation involves terrorism or national security. They can get a warrant from a judge
WITHOUT specifying what the warrant is for, in the name of Nat'l security. With a warrant of this type, they can enter unannounced, whether you are home or not, seize anything that they see fit. They can gain access to credit card info, even your library records, and the librarian could face charges if you are told about it!!! That PATRIOT act is the scariest piece of legislation to come out of washington EVER! And now there is no fixing the situation. All the government has to do is label something as "terrorist" or "terroristic" and it's pretty much over. You become an enemy combatant at that point, with NO RIGHTS WHATSOEVER!!! No phone call, no bail/bond, and they can hold you indefinately.
Hope I answered your question. If you are gonna fuck around skirting the law, be sure you can afford an attorney, and a GOOD one. Be certain that you will be bailed out of jail by laying some cash on a bondsman before hand. You can't do shit while you are sitting in a cell without an attorney and a bondsman.
DO NOT RELY on anyone else to help you or to get you out!!! (This is usually where you will find out who your friends
REALLY are!!) Generally, a PD will not go for aquittal, rather they will try and plead it down. A paid attorney will at least make sure that all the I's are dotted and T's are crossed and that the original warrant was issued in good faith, based upon credible information. This is where he will attack the credibility of the "snitch", and any other eveidence they may or may not have. It's a Cops world in that courtroom, and there are ALOT of innocent (or
MOSTLY innocent) folks in jail due to bad planning!!!
just a reason to stop me.
