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veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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[MA] SJC throws out evidence in Boston College drug case
#13498050 - 11/17/10 12:23 PM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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SJC throws out evidence in Boston College drug case November 17, 2010 - boston.com
The Supreme Judicial Court ruling overturned a decision by the Massachusetts Appeals Court, which found in December 2009 that police had acted within their rights when they searched the room.
Daniel Carr and John Sherman faced charges of trafficking in cocaine, possession with intent to distribute psilocybin mushrooms, and possession with intent to distribute marijuana after the search of their room in February 2007.
While prosecutors argued that the students had given campus police officers permission to search the room, with the students verbally agreeing to fill out a consent form, Superior Court Judge Linda E. Giles found that officers had given "discrepant" testimony about what the students had said that night.
The SJC also said that the consent forms were only partially filled out, with the students signing one half that acknowledged they were waiving their Miranda rights, but not signing the other half, which consented to the search.
"In sum, the evidence before the judge was equivocal and supported her conclusion that the Commonwealth had not met its burden," the high court said.
The Appeals Court ruling had troubled some individual-rights activists because it found that campus police who are enforcing university policies operate under somewhat different rules when it comes to restrictions on searches under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution and Article 14 of the state Constitution.
The SJC, in today's ruling, did not address those issues, however, saying, "Because the drugs and other evidence will be suppressed, we need not decide whether the initial entry into the room was lawful."
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Pilz
Think of the Children!
Registered: 10/19/10
Posts: 574
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Re: [MA] SJC throws out evidence in Boston College drug case [Re: veggie]
#13500520 - 11/17/10 08:31 PM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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so basically they didnt want to make the decision that cops cant illegally search dorm rooms so they just throw this case out?
sounds like typical politicians trying dance around the issues to me...
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learningtofly
Ancient Aliens
Registered: 05/21/07
Posts: 15,105
Loc: Out of this world
Last seen: 12 years, 7 months
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Re: [MA] SJC throws out evidence in Boston College drug case [Re: Pilz]
#13500557 - 11/17/10 08:37 PM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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You don't have privacy rights in a dorm dude, cops can search it whenever they want.
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Pilz
Think of the Children!
Registered: 10/19/10
Posts: 574
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Re: [MA] SJC throws out evidence in Boston College drug case [Re: learningtofly]
#13500634 - 11/17/10 08:50 PM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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exactly, i thought that as well but wherever they are you need a signed waiver if you dont have a warrant (to my understanding of this article).
Quote:
the consent forms were only partially filled out
what i was saying is that instead of the sumpreme court ruling that cops can no longer enter with out consent form signed, knowing that will affect future cases. they just decided to throw this one out not do deal with it.
that is my point of view unless i am misunderstanding this whole consent form fiasco. i always thought they could enter whenever they had PC. sorry if didnt make that clear in the first post.
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clorox
Crossing theDoors ofPerception
Registered: 05/06/07
Posts: 854
Loc: The Other Side
Last seen: 8 months, 29 days
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Re: [MA] SJC throws out evidence in Boston College drug case [Re: Pilz]
#13500879 - 11/17/10 09:54 PM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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a little late for their college careers...
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