possible illegal search and seizure

[Paregoric Kid]

ok well someone who is really close to me is in trouble. I was staying with her and the day after I left she said the cops came to her house looking for her cousin. apparently there was a warrant, I don't know if it was an arrest warrant for her or what. I guess her boyfriend and family thought that her cousin was living with her but she wasn't and never was.

the cops also claimed they got an "anonymous" tip that she was growing pot. they came to the door asking if they could check the place to see if her cousin was there and they claimed they smelled pot right away, which is bullshit. they put their foot in the door and walked right in without permission.

well I guess they did their search even though they were not invited in and even though they didn't get the warrant signed till 3 hours later. they took a few pot plants and asked questions. one of the questions was about me, they wanted to know what I was doing when I went to the store the other day. they said I was "shaking," I wasn't in wd but it was cold that night and I was only wearing a tshirt and jeans. either they really were watching the place or they just talked to the lady that worked at the store. she didn't give the pigs my name but thats fucked up.

someone we both knew recently went to jail for robbing an elderly man with a weapon while he was drunk and on downers. I think he snitched her out. she said the pigs even used her cell phone to make a call. I think they have her phones tapped so I sent her a loop of a C tone that disables phone taps and allows you to alter call logs for a phone tap. it only works on local and state police taps, I don't know if it works on FBI and DEA taps. anyways she wanted to know if getting a new number or line would change anything. I said that they'd probably have to get another warrant but that they might end up tapping it anyways.

they told her to give the name of 1 dealer and they wouldn't charge her, but she wouldn't. they took the pot plants, found needles but left them there, took empty bags of heroin, but get this, there was so much dried legal plants around, stuff like catnip, that they didn't even realize there was a pot of opium growing right next to the pot plants! they took some pieces of mail from the Marijuana Policy Project as evidence. that is soooooooo fucked up! I told her she could probably get it all dismissed or dropped because it sounds to me like an illegal search and seizure. I gave her the number of the local ACLU office, hopefully they would represent her pro bono.

I'm worried they may be watching me but I don't see what they would have on me except lies and bullshit, just hearsay they could never prove. I'm really worried about her, I don't want to see her just accept the bullshit and go to jail or get probation. its not fair. she has a serious medical condition and if she were in another state she would be allowed to grow cannabis for her condition. do you think someone that was wanted for growing a small amount of plants moved to a MMJ state and became a patient that they would extradite a seriously ill person for something they are allowed to do in that state?

she says they still have yet to charge her, is she for real, is she fucking with me? I don't see why she would make something like this up, I just haven't really heard of something like this going down and them waiting to charge her. maybe they want to wait and see if they can get her on something bigger or wait and see if she helps them fuck people over. should I be worried?

[Synack]

I'll make a larger post later but the smelling it part is bullshit - unless the plants were right behind the door there's no way they would have smelled it. Besides, if I had an airfreshener that smelled like pot to these cops, would that give them the right to bust in? hell no...

A good lawyer should eat those fucks alive.

[gameface]

I can only really help you on the extradition front. Most non-violent felonies are only state wide extraditable. Unless she is on DOC/ DOJ probation/ parole, I highly highly doubt they would extradite from a different state. The state of TX is another story if you happen to live there, but i think you're on the east coast. I wish you and yours the best!

[OpiXPO]

Supreme court says that if an officer smell pot, they no longer need permission to enter the home of which the odor is coming from. They seek out the contraband, and then charge the homeowner and who ever else is involved. Now there are cases out there that say differntly reported by the media, but only because they dont understand procedure as in those circumstance an arrest was made and then the contraband was found. The smell of it is enough grounds to meet the reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is in progress. I know this is a late answer, but more information for those in the future.

On top of all this, if your home is being searched or what ever, and contraband is found randomly that is not on the list of objects be searched for, they cannot charge your directly for that. However, they can secure the contraband, go grab another warrent for that particular item, and charge you with that as well.

[EleusisII]

Late reply allright, and please keep us updated on what happened.
However...
I think they have her phones tapped so I sent her a loop of a C tone that disables phone taps and allows you to alter call logs for a phone tap.

That REALLY sounds like an urban/junkie-legend to me... Are you sure this would work? Cause most, if not all, phonerouters/switchboards are digital these days. So all the good ol' analog capncrunch stuff doesn't work anymore :(

[Leave it ta Beaver]

That's fuct up, but even if the cops lied about smelling pot they came & found some in there, so if they were just taking a gamble, they won! Who's a judge gonna believe especially when they did turn up drugs.

But about not charging her, they might be trying to get info. fromher but is'nt there some limit they can hold ya w/out being charged? I dunno!

Good luck to ya & your friend, cops suck!

[port rhombus]

Cause most, if not all, phonerouters/switchboards are digital these days. So all the good ol' analog capncrunch stuff doesn't work anymore :(

+1 on the old phreaker tricks not working with modern digital phone networks.

Don't have much else to add to this... sounds illegal. I hope everything works out for your friend.

[nick]

Sure,I'd be worried.

[StackBundles]

Semi-late reply also. If the door was open and nobody secured the residence before the officer had gained entry and was never asked to leave before he "smelled" pot smoke... All bets are off. He had a legal right to be there. There are several federal and state court rulings about shit like this... I really don't have the time to dig up the citations but a little digging around on the web should yeild some results.

If a law officer has probable cause to perform a search and seizure, which the odor of MJ gave him, whatever found during the search is also admissable, they would then send a report of the incident to the county prosecutor, who would determine if charges are going to be filed. Equate it to getting pulled over and having your car searched. If the officers search your car and find weed... You are going to jail. They don't need a search warrant. They just forward the shit to the prosecutor and it's a done deal.

Charges CAN be forthcoming in this case. If your door is open, or if you open it... The Jake doesn't need permisssion. It's implied already by the open door.

[OpiXPO]

I'd be weary of equating it to that of a car search. Expectation of privacy is much much lower in a car than in a home, thus allows LEOs much greater access with less red tape in vehicles than homes.

[StackBundles]

I was just making the comparison so people would have a general idea. People have a gang of misconceptions when it comes when it comes to this shit and I figured that was the closest situation that I could equate it to that would validate/reinforce the point that I was making.

[Mallinckrodt]

About them not having charged her yet (albeit 3 weeks ago):

. . . I have a friend who was growing in his home for years and one night the local drug enforcement team finally came busting through with a warrant. They found his substantial grow operation, confiscated the plants, and found just under 200 ecstasy pills. Point is, they didn't charge him right away.

They left him there, understandably rattled and flipping out, and told him they would get in touch with him soon. I don't know exactly why they did this but I have a feeling that they may have offered to help him out of his jam, and that he probably agreed.

Thing is, dude didn't get any jail time for all that dope + the pills. I think he had to have snitched on someone but none of our mutual acquaintances ever got caught up in it, or heard of anyone getting caught up in it, so I'm not sure. He ended up with some fines and probation.

So maybe your friend told them she would cooperate and they are just waiting for the right time to approach her? Something like this happened to me when I was still a kid.

I got pulled over coming out of a known shady area and my vehicle was searched. All they found was a pot pipe but they kept asking me if I had any heroin or needles anywhere. . .saying that they had been watching me and knew I was using dope.

I told them I didn't know what they were talking about and they said something like "Well alright son. This marijuana pipe is such a minor thing, you don't want to have something on your permanent record for this now do you? If you're cooperative with us we'll see to it that this never goes anywhere."

So, being 16 at the time I said something like: "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

So, they let me go and said they'd be in touch in the future. I was thinking that they were just being nice about it because it was just a pipe and they didn't feel like doing the paperwork or something, but sure enough, 8 months later a detective calls my house.

He has me come in just to tell me that he knows what I've been up to and he's been watching me interact with known heroin traffickers. He proves this to me by mentioning a few different deals I did with some people over the past month or so and he's accurate with the days/times.

So anyway, moral of the story is: although he has all of this obviously accurate "intelligence" on me, the only actual charge he has is the fucking pot pipe that I had nearly forgotten about. He proceeds to offer me a deal to throw the paraphernalia charge out if I'll only help him take down one of the dealers he mentioned seeing me with.

Basically I told him I had no idea what he was talking about and that I needed to talk to my attorney (even though I was still a kid and quite obviously had no attorney). He realized that I wasn't about to roll over for him and sent me on my way.

I figured I got lucky and I'd just have to watch my ass from then on out to make sure nobody was following me to the spot etc. Didn't think they were ever actually going to pursue the paraphernalia charge but sure enough, less than a week later I was booked for it.

Ended up retaining the services of a lawyer-friend of the family, got a suspended sentence for agreeing to some drug classes, and it was wiped off my record when I turned 18.

Can't believe I just typed all that. . .damn amphetamines. Anyway, what I was trying to say--if anyone's made it this far--is that it's possible your friend either agreed to cooperate in the future or cooperated right then and there. So either the LEO's are waiting for the right time to approach her and cash in on their deal or she gave someone up.

Either that or this is all irrelevant because they came back two days later and arrested her and we don't know it because this thread is 3 weeks old.

[Paregoric Kid]

sorry -1, the trick still works on the digital systems, also there is still a lot of analog equipment in use. the current digital CALEA phonetap systems that law enforcement uses on local and state levels and possibly higher is built with a backwards compatibility to work like the analog systems. that the c tone defeats this has been proven by a study done at the University of Pennsylvania a few years ago. (source: Signaling Vulnerabilities in Wiretapping Systems by Micah Sherr, Eric Cronin, Sandy Clark, and Matt Blaze, University of Pennsylvania October 11, 2005, revised November 30, 2005 (http://www.crypto.com/papers/wiretapping/)) she thinks her phones were tapped because they made calls from her house phone and cell phone without her permission. and there is no way they could have smelled the pot. this stuff was so young it didn't have an odor that would travel further than standing right next to it. I doubt her phone is tapped but since she is paranoid I let her know about the c tone loophole.

also how can they secure a piece of mail from a pro-medical marijuana organization, its not like it told you how to grow pot or anything like that, it was about state legislation, isn't that free speech?

do you think there is a chance she is being watched and they are waiting to bust her on a bigger charge?

[StackBundles]

They probably snatched the peice of mail to show a patern or to be able to prove intent. Maybe as ammo to obtain another search warrant. Who knows. I would, though, be willing to bet a bundle to an empty foil that there will be charges sometime in the near future stemming from this incident.

Be careful in your future dealings with her.

[Paregoric Kid]

yeah I've cut off contact for now.

[StackBundles]

Smart move. It sucks to have to bail on a friend like that, regardless if they are telling or not. Putting yourself on the Jake's radar is never a good idea. Hopefully she understands.

[EleusisII]

Yeah, get rid of illegal stuff* and curtail all illegal activities for now anyways. If you have something to hide of course. You never know when someone might get tempted to say: "I know a guy who makes 10 pounds of Meth a week in his apartment!"

Also, be careful with whatever funky electronics you might have. You dont want to spend a month in jail cause the cops are too stupid to figure out what youre building, but think it might be something super-duper hacker-terrorist related.

[hovadagod]

Just read this. I think she isn't being charged because the search was not legitimate. Sounds like she's being used to collect info but that they don't have a strong case (yet). I doubt the phones were tapped before they went to the house but they could use the evidence that they collect in an illegal search to get a warrrant no problem. The evidence can also be used in front of a grand jury. But without a case, the DA won't let them charge your friend.

If they found tons and tons of pot plants they thought would eventully be distributed they will probably keep investigating. If only a couple, maybe not.

You never know with this stuff. I would get a lawyer before getting arrested. Anytime the cops try to talk with you, tell them to talk to your lawyer.

You can get some cheap ass lawyer on retainer. You just need to be able to tell the cops you have a lawyer. Probably can just say you want to talk to a lawyer over and over if asked anything. If the cops had a tip that they were acting on, they had time to get a warrant.

[GOLD N DIEMONDS]

"Can't believe I just typed all that. . .damn amphetamines. "Mallickrodt

LMAO^^^^^

Not being charge = a favorite FEAR tactic
FEAR is the key thing makes her wonder, you wonder and they have time, plenty of time
YES just keep to yourself for a while, no drastic charges in your daily paterns

[Thebane]

I don't think that search will be considered illegitimate by most judges. The cops said they smelled pot and then they found plants inside the house.... It's going to be hard to argue they couldn't have smelled it due to age and absolutely convince a judge that the cops didn't smell it but performed an illegal search instead.

I know cops have said they smelled pot on me (outside my apartment) when I hadn't been near any in weeks and they used that as an excuse to go into my apartment, although they didn't do a real search just poked around a bit (thank god). And they didn't ask for my permission or anything, smelling pot is reason enough to look around an apartment if not ransack it.

[upstate_007]

also how can they secure a piece of mail from a pro-medical marijuana organization, its not like it told you how to grow pot or anything like that, it was about state legislation, isn't that free speech?


To the cops a piece of mail with the word marijuana on it is just that, mail mentioning marijuana. Will it be significant if and when the case goes to trial? Probably not. The cops were just collecting evidence. In their mind too much is better than not enough. It's up to the DA to sift through it all and build a case out of it.

By the way, I support MPP as well. They are a fantastic organization that has a different level of credibility than others like NORML (who I also support) by solely attaching themselves to the medical marijuana debate.

As for your friend.................. stay away for now. They already offered her a deal which she says she declined. Not saying she didn't, but there is no way to know for sure. When formal charges come in and the true scope of the situation (ie. length of prison time) come up, they will undoubtedly offer her a second deal. That's when a lot of people would buckle. Everyone likes to say that they will never rat anyone out, but prison time is fucking scary to a lot of people. Scary enough to go into self preservation mode and do what is needed to stay out of prison.

Hell, I was looking at combined sentences adding up to 25yrs to life at one point. I knew that most of the charges would be dropped due to procedural errors and so forth. But, fuck, I was terrified. I can't say for sure that I would not have done the unthinkable to keep my 20 year old (at the time) ass out of prison. Thankfully I never had to make that choice and only ended up with under a year in the county jail and probation. That was doable for me. No need to sell my soul over what ended up being approx. 7 months in county.

[hovadagod]

I don't think that search will be considered illegitimate by most judges. The cops said they smelled pot and then they found plants inside the house.... It's going to be hard to argue they couldn't have smelled it due to age and absolutely convince a judge that the cops didn't smell it but performed an illegal search instead.

I know cops have said they smelled pot on me (outside my apartment) when I hadn't been near any in weeks and they used that as an excuse to go into my apartment, although they didn't do a real search just poked around a bit (thank god). And they didn't ask for my permission or anything, smelling pot is reason enough to look around an apartment if not ransack it.

Maybe your right but it really depends on the state (and judge obviously). In NY for example, it isn't illegal to smoke marijuana in privacy so I don't think that smelling weed would work for a search. But it's different everywhere.

[HandMeSomeOpiates]

ok well someone who is really close to me is in trouble. I was staying with her and the day after I left she said the cops came to her house looking for her cousin. apparently there was a warrant, I don't know if it was an arrest warrant for her or what. I guess her boyfriend and family thought that her cousin was living with her but she wasn't and never was.

the cops also claimed they got an "anonymous" tip that she was growing pot. they came to the door asking if they could check the place to see if her cousin was there and they claimed they smelled pot right away, which is bullshit. they put their foot in the door and walked right in without permission.

well I guess they did their search even though they were not invited in and even though they didn't get the warrant signed till 3 hours later. they took a few pot plants and asked questions. one of the questions was about me, they wanted to know what I was doing when I went to the store the other day. they said I was "shaking," I wasn't in wd but it was cold that night and I was only wearing a tshirt and jeans. either they really were watching the place or they just talked to the lady that worked at the store. she didn't give the pigs my name but thats fucked up.

someone we both knew recently went to jail for robbing an elderly man with a weapon while he was drunk and on downers. I think he snitched her out. she said the pigs even used her cell phone to make a call. I think they have her phones tapped so I sent her a loop of a C tone that disables phone taps and allows you to alter call logs for a phone tap. it only works on local and state police taps, I don't know if it works on FBI and DEA taps. anyways she wanted to know if getting a new number or line would change anything. I said that they'd probably have to get another warrant but that they might end up tapping it anyways.

they told her to give the name of 1 dealer and they wouldn't charge her, but she wouldn't. they took the pot plants, found needles but left them there, took empty bags of heroin, but get this, there was so much dried legal plants around, stuff like catnip, that they didn't even realize there was a pot of opium growing right next to the pot plants! they took some pieces of mail from the Marijuana Policy Project as evidence. that is soooooooo fucked up! I told her she could probably get it all dismissed or dropped because it sounds to me like an illegal search and seizure. I gave her the number of the local ACLU office, hopefully they would represent her pro bono.

I'm worried they may be watching me but I don't see what they would have on me except lies and bullshit, just hearsay they could never prove. I'm really worried about her, I don't want to see her just accept the bullshit and go to jail or get probation. its not fair. she has a serious medical condition and if she were in another state she would be allowed to grow cannabis for her condition. do you think someone that was wanted for growing a small amount of plants moved to a MMJ state and became a patient that they would extradite a seriously ill person for something they are allowed to do in that state?

she says they still have yet to charge her, is she for real, is she fucking with me? I don't see why she would make something like this up, I just haven't really heard of something like this going down and them waiting to charge her. maybe they want to wait and see if they can get her on something bigger or wait and see if she helps them fuck people over. should I be worried?
I think they are just trying to scare her into snitching

[StackBundles]

^^^In regards to "legal" searches or not. I am just going to toss a few things out there for people to be aware of. All of the above scenarios have been challenged at the Federal level and there are citations to back them up, easily found with a simple Google search.

If a door to your house is open, the police can come in. By having an open door you are giving up any reasonable expectation of privacy. You are not necessarilly granting police access, but nor can they be sure that a crime isn't in commission or the residents of the dwelling are safe. If you encounter this situation and find a cop standing in your living room, he has a legal right to be there until you ask him to leave, which he will be legally compelled to do UNLESS illegal activity has been observed.

Your garage is not your house, neither are assorted outbuildings such as sheds, or pool buildings. Secure your area!

If a cop is on your doorstep and says asks you if he may "come in" and you grant him access, any illegal activity or contraband discovered during his visit will be admissable in court.

***A few seconds of googling will give you a good idea what is what on this front and also be able to help you protect yourself should you find yourself having to deal with the cops

ALSO!!! If you come into contact with the police and they ask to talk to you... And you agree... ANYTHING YOU SAY WILL BE ADMISSABLE IN COURT. YOU ARE WILLINGLY TALKING TO THE POLICE. Your MIRANDA only comes into play once you have been detained or are in custody.

99% of the custodial arrests in this country take place without a warrant. The warrant comes after the arrest, once all of the info has been given to the prosecutor.

AND, YES... The police LOVE to WAIT. As long as LEO has criminal information on a suspect, there is always the threat of arrest.

[GOLD N DIEMONDS]

Left one out kind of :)
IF coppers at door and from door see "weapon" they can imediately come in without your permission and secure that immediate "weapon" area and search (ONLY THERE)
REASON-THERE OWN SAFE ASS
and to be honest can't blame them
It what constitues a "weapon" where things can get sketchy as used to their advantage. One can kill with baseball bat, but you might have just come home from a friend ballgame too. bat= weapon

[hovadagod]

Why don't you post the citations to the cases? Each state has its own constitution. The federal courts are totally different. I guess if you are citing supreme court cases that's one thing but still, a state can grant more rights than the federal constitution; just not less.

In NY for example, the fifth amendment of the NY constitution provides for an indelible right to counsel which gives you the right to counsel even before an arrest at times. You have to know your state's constitution. Google is not the best place to find the newest case law but most of the stuff you said seems right,

^^^In regards to "legal" searches or not. I am just going to toss a few things out there for people to be aware of. All of the above scenarios have been challenged at the Federal level and there are citations to back them up, easily found with a simple Google search.

If a door to your house is open, the police can come in. By having an open door you are giving up any reasonable expectation of privacy. You are not necessarilly granting police access, but nor can they be sure that a crime isn't in commission or the residents of the dwelling are safe. If you encounter this situation and find a cop standing in your living room, he has a legal right to be there until you ask him to leave, which he will be legally compelled to do UNLESS illegal activity has been observed.

Your garage is not your house, neither are assorted outbuildings such as sheds, or pool buildings. Secure your area!

If a cop is on your doorstep and says asks you if he may "come in" and you grant him access, any illegal activity or contraband discovered during his visit will be admissable in court.

***A few seconds of googling will give you a good idea what is what on this front and also be able to help you protect yourself should you find yourself having to deal with the cops

ALSO!!! If you come into contact with the police and they ask to talk to you... And you agree... ANYTHING YOU SAY WILL BE ADMISSABLE IN COURT. YOU ARE WILLINGLY TALKING TO THE POLICE. Your MIRANDA only comes into play once you have been detained or are in custody.

99% of the custodial arrests in this country take place without a warrant. The warrant comes after the arrest, once all of the info has been given to the prosecutor.

AND, YES... The police LOVE to WAIT. As long as LEO has criminal information on a suspect, there is always the threat of arrest.

[EleusisII]

Yeah, I guess the best advice really is shut the fuck up. Ask the officer if youre under arrest or not, and inform him that he CANT come in unless he has a warrant.

It goes against everzthing zo mama has taught you, about being nice and polite, but when dealing with the police the best advice is always: Dont say a thing, you can only make it worse. Even if you HAVENT done anything illegal.

[hovadagod]

Exactly. Just STFU. Tell the cop you want a lawyer. He'll tell you you don't need a lawyer until you're arrested. You tell him that's for you to decide and you won't talk to the government without a lawyer.

[EleusisII]

Yup... This goes even for when you havent done anything, and arent hiding anything in your house, car or on on you.

There are plenty of guys in jail who thought "Oh, what the hell, I dont have anything on me, wouldnt do any harm to talk to this copper, maybe theyll even catch the real crook!"

[StackBundles]

I will dig up a few citations...

Although, as I would hope you know... Federal rulings/decisions/mandates made in any district/region directly influence/dictate state law.

When it comes to the issue of a Federal Court deciding something such as a State's Contitutionality and whether or not a search and seizure was legal based on an LEO claiming to smell MJ smoke when a State Court has ruled that one has the right to smoke MJ in the privacy of one's own home, there would be several issues at hand there. Depending on the issues brought in the appeal...

Regardless... Federal Law is CONTROLLING.

Just ask the co-op owners out there on the left coast.

OOPS... Missed some of your post...

A state's constitution and laws are still subject to Federal Ruling.

[hovadagod]

Federal law trumps conflicting state law but that doesn't mean that federal court rulings/decisions impact state law. State courts do not have to follow decisions made by federal courts. Very often, federal courts have to apply state law for cases.

The issue we are discussing comes down to rules of evidence. there are the Federal rules of evidence (FDR) for federal courts and each state has their own rules of evidence. NY doesn't have a codified code of evidence so NY courts have to follow case-law. The caselaw that state courts in ny have to follow is not based on decisions made by federal courts. Those decisions are not controlling. Only Federal Supreme Court decisions control state courts. Federal decisions only bind lower FEDERAL courts to comply with the decision and the logic behind it (with the exception of federal supreme court decisions). NY state trial judges would have to look at the decisions made by the appeals courts in NY that are in the same distirct or whatever its called in NY.

A trial judge in NY doesn't have to follow the Federal Courts case law in the same district. NY has police power and its own constitution. These are the things that bind NY courts. Federal courts deal with federal statute and the federal constitution. Only when states violate the federal constitution do the federal courts have a right to control the state courts.

I will dig up a few citations...

Although, as I would hope you know... Federal rulings/decisions/mandates made in any district/region directly influence/dictate state law.

When it comes to the issue of a Federal Court deciding something such as a State's Contitutionality and whether or not a search and seizure was legal based on an LEO claiming to smell MJ smoke when a State Court has ruled that one has the right to smoke MJ in the privacy of one's own home, there would be several issues at hand there. Depending on the issues brought in the appeal...

Regardless... Federal Law is CONTROLLING.

Just ask the co-op owners out there on the left coast.

OOPS... Missed some of your post...

A state's constitution and laws are still subject to Federal Ruling.

[StackBundles]

MOSTLY correct... So when I have exhausted all of my appeals in Ney York, I am left to turn where??? We are discussing two seperate things, almost. The next step in CRIMINAL APPEALS or Interpretaion of the law is Federal.

You should know how the appelate system works. Shit can get overturned, affirmed, sent back to the lower court to determine judgement.

I was saying in my earlier posts that FEDERAL COURTS have upheld all of those situations that I mentioned.

I wasn't trying to argue state court procedures.

And, YES, Federal ruling/decisions/opinions very much impact state law...

If I am going to trial, and there is CASELAW... In regards to an interpretation of a state STATUTE then the judge is compelled to rule alongside of Federal opinion. Caselaw is the LAW interpreted, interperetations of the application of the law, not LAW itself. State laws are STATUTE. Statuatory in nature. The Rules of Evidence protocol is PROCEDURAL, not interpretive.

[hovadagod]

The federal court's interpretations aren't binding on state courts.

The only reason criminal cases go to the supreme court is where there is a constitutional issue. I need to find a good website that explains this.

Read up on Stare Decisis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stare_decisis

[StackBundles]

Search and Seizure is a constitutional issue.

This is becoming circumlocutious.

If I am challenging the CONSTITUTIONALITY of a state LAW or procedure, then I will be challenging it FEDERAL court once all of my state appelate remedies have been exhausted and I have not obtained the relief I sought.

[GOLD N DIEMONDS]

Search and Seizure is a constitutional issue.

This is becoming circumlocutious.

If I am challenging the CONSTITUTIONALITY of a state LAW or procedure, then I will be challenging it FEDERAL court once all of my state appelate remedies have been exhausted and I have not obtained the relief I sought.

IN THEORY ONLY
IN REALITY IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN:D