The other day, my house was raided and they had seized lots of paraphenalia and marijuana, including some pills and mushrooms that were not even mine. They have me for possession and distribution of cannabis, and possession of the other things. Plus all the paraphenalia.

However, upon raiding the house, they denied us our right to view the search warrant, and did not let us see it until they had finished. We had asked to be presented with it multiple times, each time they told us no. Now as far as I know this is highly illegal for them to do.

They did indeed have a warrant, but like I said they refused us our right to view it when we had asked multiple times. My lawyer said that this is grounds for expulsion of evidence, so everything has a chance of being dropped because of this vital mistake.

I guess I just want to know what others have to say about this, and if they have had the same experience with search warrants and being let off because of it. I am not too worried after talking to the lawyer once he said that, also because the fact that they forced me to write a statement after saying I did not want to do anything until I had spoken to a lawyer.

With the amount that these officers screwed up, these charges should get dropped no? Has anyone had experience or have insight into this sort of thing?

What caused them to raid the house?

Apparently someone that I thought was a good friend of mine turned me in. They had also been watching my house and knew what I was doing.

The fact that they would not let us view the search warrant is grounds for expulsion of evidence though, at least my lawyer said so. So hopefully this is all going to just get dropped, and I just have to be more careful and move the hell out of the area.

I wouldn't base my entire legal case on this one slip up. If you unwillingly let them in your house without a warrant, yes, I can see that as grounds for it being thrown out. I'm not a lawyer but if they already had a warrant you can bet they already had a good amount of evidence against you.

If I were you, I'd study the religious use of these plants ASAP (see Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal) and maybe even reach out to a church member there. It's a long shot, but worth some investigation.

Good luck with it all and may this serve as a warning...

silentium est aurum (Silence is golden)

That is not the only thing I am basing it off of, but it still is my best chance as of right now. I go to meet the lawyer tomorrow and can discuss everything then and find out what needs to be done to protect myself.

Good luck GaB, hope it all turns out OK for you.

Good luck Gone-and-Back, (I'm not a lawyer)

I hope you can successfully utilize the old "fruit of the poisonous tree" rule.

The police may could claim that they were too busy securing the scene to show you the warrant.

I'd be working on a persuasive argument that they were not too busy, and needed to show the warrant upon entry (if not invited), and surely should've presented the warrant upon being requested; idk if that would work, but it's worth a shot.

That doesn't mean that they don't have evidence separate from the raid, but you might could really hurt their case against you.

Best of luck to you, and those around you.

Good luck, Gone-and-Back.

I hope it wasn't a no-knock warrant -- they can do whatever they want without showing those until they're done.

They knocked and shouted and such before coming in, so I dont believe it was that type of warrant.

Also, the only other evidence they have on me is someone came to me for something that was with them, but even then thats just a one time thing. If everything else were to be dropped, they would just have that small little thing and I would get off with almost nothing.

I met with the lawyer today, and he believes that even if we dont fight this case at all, I will get nothing more then some misdemenors, probation, and it expunged after 5 years. All because I am 18 and have never had a criminal offense before. I got lucky on this one.

So, you've been using this forum for almost a year while 17? How do we know you're actually 18 now given what your lawyer just said? Sounds like punishment for a minor...

No, I joined while being 18, and am almost 19 now. The fact that I have never had a criminal record before is why they would go so light on me. Plus being 18. I also am about to be turning 19 this year as well.

Even as a 17 year old though this type of offense would be prosecuted as an adult, because a 17 year old should know better then to do such things.

Well, technically, that's impossible since you joined April 2012... but okay.

Just glad to hear things turned out somewhat positive. Be careful in the future! They are usually not so kind the second time around.

Oh trust me, there will be much more caution in the near future. I do not want any more encounters like this one.

Also, I guess I shouldnt of said "the other day" this happened, for it happened a few months ago in reality. I am now just having trials and stuff for it, stupid American justice system takes forever with such things.

But you are right, they are not kind about such things. I am just glad to have no criminal background previous to this, or else I would not be getting off lightly. I would probably be facing many many years.

Hope your covering your tracks online...No need to lead them here

I have done what I needed to in that aspect. They did not search my computer anyways, they had no right to with what they were looking for. They just kinda tossed it across the room and left it there underneath everything. I am surprised the screen still works, or anything still works for that matter.

Besides I believe Trav has taken precautions as to the tracability of this site to begin with. He is a good programmer and I believe in his abilities to protect this community. And to think that people dont already watch forums like these is rediculous, they know what we are doing they just dont know WHO we are, so nothing can be done about it. That is why discussing personal information that could give away your location or who you are is so discouraged I would imagine.

Why didn't the police want to show you the warrant before entering the house?

Well good luck with the case. I don't know where you life, but I know where I live you might get a small fine for this.

It is unwise to discuss details of a pending case publicly, let alone on a forum that focuses on illicit substances. Please consider this should you continue to post in this thread.

I wish you all the best with your legal proceedings...just remember, "Loose lips sink ships."

That is why I have not really posted much in here.

As to why they did that, I can not answer really. When this is all said and done then I can give some more info. Hopefully that will be soon.

Fingers crossed.

You should definitely follow through with the motion to suppress the evidence. If you win that they'll have nothing worth pursuing and you'll get off with nothing.

Getting things expunged is a crapshoot, and really doesn't matter much anyways. You'll still have a federal NCIC arrest record rapsheet that will say "felony possession of a controlled substance - 2013". And there's NOTHING that you or the state judges can do to have that removed.

See if you can get the evidence supressed first. Failing that, cut a deal if you have no other case. Make sure your lawyer gets everything spelled out in the deal, including a recommendation from the state that it be expunged after 5 years of good behavior. That way in five years the state will have no objection to expungement and it should be smooth sailing for you. You might not even need a lawyer in that case.

Since it's your first offence, you should also consider asking for a "withheld judgement". Basically that means that you pay the fines, community service, treatment/jail/probation, and when that's all over with it will be like it never happened, except for the record of it being entered as a withheld judgement.

Basically you can only ever get one withheld judgement per lifetime, and the punishment is usually a little worse, or longer, or more expensive than if you plead to it, but it doesn't go on your record as a felony conviction, which would make you a felon.

Being a felon closes a lot of doors for people. Voting, guns, jobs, etc.. EVERYBODY thinks they're going to eventually get their rights restored and their record expunged, however that RARELY happens. And as I mentioned there is still that federal NCIC arrest record, and likely a state one that will probably also remain even if the conviction is expunged.

When cops run your name they don't get a report of what you've been convicted of. They get your arrest record, felon status, driver's license status, and if you are on probation/parole.

Sorry if I'm the one to break this to you, but for the rest of your life when cops run your name they're going to get "felony drugs" back as a response. If you work things out and get your record cleaned up to the max, it PROBABLY won't show up on a background check.

So I HIGHLY suggest making every effort to beat this charge. Failing that try to get a withheld judgement, and only as a last resort cut a deal.

Right now you just want things to be over with, but if you don't do everything you can you'll be kicking yourself the rest of your life, especially every time it pops up again on you. Lawyer's fees are expensive, but in the long term they're insignificant and you don't want to always be thinking "I should have fought it."