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Anonymous #1
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Roommate sells weed.
#13207646 - 09/17/10 12:35 AM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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So I'm living in a house with four people, and one of them sells some bud here and there (maybe picks up a LB at a time tops). If for some reason he was gonna get pinched/raided, would police be allowed to search ALL rooms, or would a warrant only be good for common areas/his room? I don't have a lock on my door (or... really a door at all for a matter of a fact), but have a lock box with a bunch of RC's in it. Would they need a separate warrant for the lock box?
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johnm214



Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Been addressed before, you can look up my response to some other questions for case law, but basically under US Constitution, to get your room not searched (more realistically, get the fruits of the search of your room ruled inadmissable), you'll need to make it not apart of the common areas of the house. This is only relevant, of course, if you or your room aren't named in the warrant lawfully.
What this means is that you'd need to prove to a judge that your room was not accesible to the others in the house, whether guests or fellow housemates. If you can do this, you can also make your room's items inadmissable should someone allow the cops to search the house voluntarily.
No hard and fast rule, but basically to convince a judge of this you're going to need to get a lock on your door, use it, and it will help if you have a sign on the door saying "no entrance" or "private" or something.
If you need help finding some case law for clarification on this, post back
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Anonymous #1
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Re: Roommate sells weed. [Re: johnm214]
#13207767 - 09/17/10 01:16 AM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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I don't even have a door though, just a spiral staircase from the front room into my room?
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johnm214



Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Honestly, it sounds like it would be pretty difficult of a case to make in that case that your room isn't commonly accesable.
The best you could do would be to put a chain over the staircase with a sign on it, and crap like that.
Don't assume you won't be charged with the guy if he gets busted.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 3 months, 8 days
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Re: Roommate sells weed. [Re: johnm214]
#13208211 - 09/17/10 05:26 AM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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> Don't assume you won't be charged with the guy if he gets busted.
Assume the opposite. The police will assume that you had to know what was going on in the house; therefore, you are part of a conspiracy... whee!, new charge to add! They will let you plea to a lesser charge, probably something like simple possession, in exchange for testimony against your housemates.
Conspiracy charges are almost impossible to prove if you, and everybody else, keep their mouths shut and don't talk (if arrested). Unfortunately, people tend to incriminate themselves which is why the conspiracy charges work so well. Best advice, move out as soon as you can and make certain that you don't have anything illegal in your part of the house. Beyond that, when the inevitable happens and the police break down the door, keep your mouth shut and let a lawyer do the talking for you.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Anonymous #2
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Re: Roommate sells weed. [Re: Seuss]
#13208674 - 09/17/10 09:24 AM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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I had friends that this happened to.
3 lived in a condo / small home. When one was raided for large(ish) amounts of pot, every single room was busted into. And, the two that were not selling got arrested, having very small bags in there rooms. The third, the seller, was not home. One of my friends woke up with a shotgun in his face, living in the basement.
Your not safe if you get raided. Don't think for a second the cops will only go into "specific" rooms. If they got the warrent to go in, your fucked, like everyone else.
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Anonymous #3
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cops come into our house one time, saw some pipes in a guy's room that wasn't home and left them be.
They went into everybody's room and woke us all up. guy was on campus studying super late into the night/early int he morning (5AM) and his room had some pipes in it in plain view.
But the cops couldn't talk to him and we wouldn't give them his name or whatever, and they didn't collect his pipes for evidence - just left 'em there.
I live in a small town with retards for cops, though. Suess knows, I do believe.
Good luck, #1.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 3 months, 8 days
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> But the cops couldn't talk to him and we wouldn't give them his name or whatever, and they didn't collect his pipes for evidence - just left 'em there.
I have a friend that used to be a cop in NY... as he would say, "Sometimes, it just isn't worth the paperwork to mess with something that small".
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Anonymous #3
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Re: Roommate sells weed. [Re: Seuss]
#13209217 - 09/17/10 12:10 PM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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they got the search warrant and all, but his phernalia wasn't listed.
just the stuff they took from our resident pot dealer and the stuff I had going.
dodged a bullet altogether there, i tell ya.
you remember talking to me 'bout it?
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rezen
Time Traveler


Registered: 05/21/10
Posts: 1,031
Loc:
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They can search it.
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ShroomyJohn
Stranger
Registered: 09/13/10
Posts: 1,085
Last seen: 11 years, 7 months
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Re: Roommate sells weed. [Re: rezen]
#13211858 - 09/17/10 09:58 PM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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What if it is locked in a safe, separate warrant necessary?
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rezen
Time Traveler


Registered: 05/21/10
Posts: 1,031
Loc:
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Yeah if shit is locked in a safe its a little different but if they got probable cause to go inside they can pretty much search in any room. That does not always mean it will hold up in court though.
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist


Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,392
Last seen: 2 days, 19 hours
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Quote:
ShroomyJohn said: What if it is locked in a safe, separate warrant necessary?
No.
One thing that should work is to keep your drugs hidden in a common area of the house and don't have your fingerprints on it. Since its a common area they wouldn't know whose drugs they were and would not be able to charge anyone with them. Theoretically at least.
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Anonymous #4
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The only thing I have experience with is living with a dude on parole, I rented a room out of his house. Now granted this is not about a warrant but about a prison grade probation. I was told that if I had a pad lock on my door they could not search my room. I am sure though that if I had left the house and then they searched it and that padlock was not on, they would have full rights to inspect my room. Again, this is concerning California and a basic parole home inspection.
Thinking about it I am sure a basic door lock with a key would work. The door just did not have one so a pad lock hinge was cheaper. Probably bad though if you don't trust your house mates. Eh they break easy enough.
Edited by Anonymous (09/18/10 04:11 PM)
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Anonymous #5
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Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said:
Quote:
ShroomyJohn said: What if it is locked in a safe, separate warrant necessary?
No.
One thing that should work is to keep your drugs hidden in a common area of the house and don't have your fingerprints on it. Since its a common area they wouldn't know whose drugs they were and would not be able to charge anyone with them. Theoretically at least.
Unless the dealer was dealing from the common areas, then you have probably added another charge for him/
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KBG1977
Registered: 08/23/08
Posts: 11,017
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It really depends on what State you live in,but come on guys,if the cops bust down your door,and find pounds of Herbs,they are going to search the whole damn house regardless,and probably every body will go to jail.You can't live in a house with a roommate that sells that much Herbs,and not know anything about it
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jimbotron
Patty-Cake Enthusiast



Registered: 02/24/09
Posts: 2,324
Last seen: 10 years, 5 months
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Pleading ignorance is one thing but it's quite another to say that you shouldn't get busted for the drugs in your room because they were going after your roommate instead. Good luck proving that your possession was completely separate from his dealing.
The Constitution is nice and all, and you can wave it from your jail cell, but they're just gonna laugh.
-------------------- BEST TEAM IN THE UNIVERSE
 
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ShroomyJohn
Stranger
Registered: 09/13/10
Posts: 1,085
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Re: Roommate sells weed. [Re: jimbotron]
#13221139 - 09/19/10 11:13 PM (13 years, 7 months ago) |
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I don't smoke weed so nothing that he has would be in my room. I'm talking like legal grey area RC's and such. I don't have door so it will be in my safe. That should protect me shouldn't it?
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johnm214



Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Quote:
KBG1977 said: It really depends on what State you live in,but come on guys,if the cops bust down your door,and find pounds of Herbs,they are going to search the whole damn house regardless,and probably every body will go to jail.You can't live in a house with a roommate that sells that much Herbs,and not know anything about it
a) knowing about someone dealing drugs, whether they live in your apartment/house or not, is not a crime.
b) the point you make isn't relevant. What the cops do and are likely to do has been adressed and everyone is in pretty much solid agreement with you, but this has nothing to do with the point of this thread. as stated:
Quote:
What this means is that you'd need to prove to a judge that your room was not accesible to the others in the house, whether guests or fellow housemates. If you can do this, you can also make your room's items inadmissable should someone allow the cops to search the house voluntarily.
The issue is not what they will search but what evidence they can admit against you in a criminal proceeding.
In any case, you've claimed this depends upon which state you live in. Please back up this claim as to what the law is. I disagree.
Quote:
Anonymous said: The only thing I have experience with is living with a dude on parole, I rented a room out of his house. Now granted this is not about a warrant but about a prison grade probation. I was told that if I had a pad lock on my door they could not search my room. I am sure though that if I had left the house and then they searched it and that padlock was not on, they would have full rights to inspect my room. Again, this is concerning California and a basic parole home inspection.
Thinking about it I am sure a basic door lock with a key would work. The door just did not have one so a pad lock hinge was cheaper. Probably bad though if you don't trust your house mates. Eh they break easy enough.
I'm impressed they granted you the lock-thing would stop a legal search.
I pretty much agree with what they said. The issue is whether the given area was accesable to the person and whether that person had the right to consent to someone's entry into the area or whether the other person had a reasonable expectation of privacy actually excercised against the first person so that they could not consent to the search.
Quote:
ShroomyJohn said: I don't smoke weed so nothing that he has would be in my room. I'm talking like legal grey area RC's and such. I don't have door so it will be in my safe. That should protect me shouldn't it?
If the person who has granted the police the ability to search, through consent or probable cause of a crime, has no access to the safe, practically and permissibly, then any access of the safe should be an illegal search provided you don't consent or you can't prove the above.
I would recomend a combination lock so that a key cannot be subpoenaed, found, or whatever. Then simply refuse to open the safe, ever, without an attorney present.
They can't get the combo from your head and use it against you criminally.
If they do have probable cause to suspect the contents of the safe are illegal/evidence then they will have the right to search it per warrant. This means if your roomate gets busted and tells the cops you've got drugs in the safe, because the cop told him he's going to be doing a decade stretch unless he starts cooperating, then the search would not be illegal.
Edited by johnm214 (09/20/10 03:54 AM)
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