Contemporary Cultural Diversity Issues in Criminal Justice

p Search Warrant Exceptions

News Story

Source : HYPERLINK "http /mparent7777-2 .blogspot .com /2007 /06 /appeals-court-rules-cops-can- steal-cars .html http /mparent7777-2 .blogspot .com /2007 /06 /appeals-court-rules-cops-can-s teal-cars .html

Appeals Court Rules Cops Can Steal Cars and Lie to Victims To Conduct a Warrantless Search

By Ryan SingelJune 08 , 2007 1 :11 :23 PM

On December 18 , 2004 , Ascension Alverez-Tejeda and his girlfriend were stopped at a traffic light near La Pine Oregon , and when the light turned green , the car in front of them stalled . Alverez-Tejeda stopped in time but

a pickup truck behind him rear-ended him . When he got out to look at his bumper , the police showed up and arrested the truck driver for drinking and driving . The cops then convinced Alverez-Tejeda and his girlfriend to go to a nearby parking lot , ed them out of their car and into in the back of the cop car for 'processing ' While they were in the cruiser , a person jumped in their car and took off . The cops ed the pair out and set off in full pursuit up the road . A few minutes later , the stolen car comes flying back down the road with the police cruiser in pursuit . The pursuing officer returns alone with the woman 's purse , telling the duo that the carjacker thrown it out the car window and escaped . The woman is so upset she hurls and the police put the distraught couple up in a motel

But it was all a set up worthy of David Mamet . DEA agents were tracking a drug gang and had bought drugs out of the car months earlier , though not when Alverez-Tejeda was there . Using wiretaps and surveillance , the DEA learned that Alverez-Tejeda was using the leader 's car to transport illicit drugs . The agents then decided to stage something , perhaps even a carjacking , in to seize the drugs without tipping off the conspirators . They never consulted a judge , but every person in the story , other than Alverez-Tejeda and his girlfriend , was a cop of some sort

Once they got the car , the agents got a search warrant without telling the judge about the caper and seized cocaine and methamphetamines , as well as property belonging to Alverez-Tejeda and his girlfriend . The government indicted Alverez-Tejeda but the district court in Washington found that the caper violated the Fourth Amendment , thus making the drugs inadmissable in court . The government appealed

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the lower court 's decision Friday , finding that this police escapade was legal since the cops had probable cause already to seize and search the car , thanks to the vehicle exception to the Fourth Amendment created by the courts during the War on Drugs . Therefore , the court found , the police are allowed much latitude in how they seize the car and arrest the driver . The tap was considered only a minimal use of force , and the fake chase wasn 't considered to have put any civilians lives in danger

The government here certainly had important...