Ronald Chapman: West Palm Beach Criminal Lawyer | Florida Criminal Attorney: DUI, Assault & Battery, Felonies | Criminal Law Firm

For several years it has  been the law in the United States that if the police illegally seize someone, then any contraband that the police find on that person--such as guns or drugs--cannot be presented at that person's trial.  This is sometimes referred to as the doctrine of the "fruit of the poisonous tree."

However, when the police search a student's property at school, such a search may not be illegal even though the student's behavior does nothing to arouse the officer's suspicion.   Thus, in one Florida case, the court ruled that it was legal for the police to search a student's purse even though they did not suspect her of having done anything illegal. 

In that particular case, the court said that the search of the student was an administrative search which had the purpose of deterring students from bringing drugs and dangerous weapons to school.  This type of search differed from those searches which are intended to penalize individuals who are found with contraband on their persons.  Therefore, the court ruled, it was legal for the police to search the student's purse.

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Just because the police handcuff you does not necessarily mean you're under arrest.  That's what the Florida Supreme Court ruled in a case called Reynolds v. State of Florida.

In Reynolds, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that it is legal for a police officer to handcuff someone if the officer reasonably believes that it is necessary to do so in order to protect the officer's safety or to prevent that person from fleeing.  However, handcuffing a person in this situation does not necessarily mean that the person is under arrest; it may simply mean that the person is being temporarily detained while the officer conducts his investigation.

The Reynolds Court cited to a case from Alaska called Howard v. State of Alaska which held that a person who had been handcuffed and had guns drawn on him by police officers was not under arrest but was simply being detained while the police conducted their investigation.

So the next time a police officer points a gun at you and puts handcuffs on your wrists, just remember--you may not be under arrest.

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If a police officer stops your car for, say, speeding and then smells an odor of marijuana when he walks up to your car window, Florida law states that that officer has probable cause to believe that a violation of Florida's narcotic's laws has occurred.  When that happens, the officer is legally entitled to search the entire car including the truck and everyone inside the car.

Within the last year or two, I have read many police reports in which arresting officers have relied upon the alleged smell of marijuana in order to search vehicles and its passengers.  In fact, it seems that officers are relying upon this reason much more than they have in years past.  Is that because more people are smoking marijuana in their cars than used to be the case, or is it because officers know that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to prove that they did not, in fact, smell marijuana when they say they did?

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Florida law states that the police may break open a door leading into a home if:

1.  The police have a warrant.
2. The police announce who they are and what they want.
3. The occupant of the home refuses to let the police enter his home after the police have waited a reasonable period of time after knocking and announcing their purpose.

There has been a great deal of litigation regarding precisely how long the police must wait after knocking and before breaking down a door to a home.

However, there are 4 exceptions to the rule that the police must wait a reasonable period of time after knocking and before breaking down someone's door.  Those exceptions are:

1. Those inside the home already know that the police are outside, and they know what the police want; or
2. The police reasonably believe that those inside the home are in danger of being physically harmed; or
3. The danger to the police would increase if the police simply waited outside the door; or
4. Those inside the home might try to escape or destroy evidence.

 As you can see, the law regarding when the police may forcibly enter your home is quite complex.  Should the police ever forcibly enter your home, it would be wise to consult with a criminal attorney in order to get his or her opinion regarding the legality of the officers' actions.

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The law throughout the United States is that the police may not detain an individual whom they have stopped for any longer than necessary to accomplish their reason for stopping that person in the first place.

For example, say that the police stop your car because you are driving 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.  While the police have a right to stop your car and issue you a citation for speeding, they do not ordinarily have the right to keep you by the side of the road for any longer than it takes to write the citation.

What happens all too often, however, is that the police do keep individuals by the side of the road for longer than it takes to issue a citation based on a mere hunch that the driver may have contraband such as drugs or guns hidden in her car.  When that happens, the police will sometimes radio in to their headquarters and ask that a dog that has been trained to detect drugs be sent to their location in order to see whether the dog alerts to any drugs in or around the vehicle.  If the dog does alert to drugs which are eventually located by the police, the driver of the car will almost always be arrested and taken to jail.

Because the driver was detained for longer than it should have taken to simply issue a citation for speeding, that driver's lawyer would be well advised to consider filing a motion to suppress the evidence that was discovered by the police as a result of this arguably illegal search and seizure.

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