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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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State’s high court overturns man’s pot conviction [WA]
#8491170 - 06/06/08 12:53 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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State’s high court overturns man’s pot conviction June 5, 2008 - The Olympian
The Washington Supreme Court overturned a local man's 2003 conviction for an Olympia marijuana-grow operation, finding that the warrantless search of his home was unconstitutional.
The unanimous decision Thursday to reverse the conviction includes a majority opinion signed by seven of the nine justices.
Jason Eisfeldt's conviction for two counts of unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance was overturned; he could not be reached for comment Thursday. His attorney, Rick Cordes, who argued the case before the state Supreme Court in January, said he hasn't yet talked to his client, a 34-year-old ex-Marine.
"I'm sure he's pretty elated," Cordes said.
He said the U.S. Supreme Court has watered down the constitutional protections against warrantless searches in recent years. But in Washington, the state Constitution has different wording that gives residents a greater expectation of privacy against such searches, Cordes said.
Eisfeldt has been out of jail on conditions of release awaiting the Supreme Court's decision, Cordes said. He would have faced a prison sentence of two years and three months had his conviction stood, according to his original judgment and sentence.
According to the Supreme Court's majority opinion:
The case involved a repairman calling police after he went to Eisfeldt's Lacey home on 21st Avenue on Aug. 5, 2003, to clean a diesel spill in the living room. The repairman had permission from the tenants to enter, according to court papers filed in Thurston County Superior Court in connection with the case. The repairman found a large amount of what he thought was marijuana in a garbage container in the garage.
Thurston County Narcotics Task Force members went to the home, went in the garage with the repairman and observed the garbage container containing the suspected marijuana "shake." They didn't have a warrant.
Detectives subsequently got a search warrant for Eisfeldt's home and, based on evidence they found, got a second search warrant for an Olympia residence on Eastside Street. There, detectives found a marijuana-grow operation.
The state Supreme Court majority opinion notes that the U.S. Constitution leaves people subject to warrantless but "reasonable" searches, but that article I, section 7 of the Washington state Constitution "requires a warrant before any search, reasonable or not."
The repairman had no authority to allow the police detectives to search the garage, the Supreme Court's majority opinion states.
"Since the warrantless search of the Lacey home was unconstitutional, all evidence gathered during that search must be suppressed," reads the majority opinion.
Cordes said Thursday that the detectives would have been on more solid ground if they had obtained a search warrant based on the repairman's information, instead of going to the home without a warrant.
Cordes said that he was hopeful after arguing his case before the state Supreme Court in January, because "most of the tough questions (by the justices) were directed toward the state."
Thurston County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Bruneau, who argued the case for the state, said he has not decided whether he will ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. When asked to comment on the ruling, Bruneau said, "I could see this one coming."
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beandip
mycelium


Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 425
Last seen: 3 years, 4 months
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Re: State’s high court overturns man’s pot conviction [WA] [Re: veggie]
#8491287 - 06/06/08 01:27 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Be home when those people are there?!? WTF
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clover606
Stranger

Registered: 08/13/07
Posts: 656
Last seen: 10 years, 7 months
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Re: State’s high court overturns man’s pot conviction [WA] [Re: beandip]
#8492145 - 06/06/08 09:59 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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id knock the shit out of that repair man.
-------------------- grassman said: I remember being in DARE when i was much younger and some of the stories they would tell you are not only ridiculous, but completely untrue. One story was that a woman was on LSD and thought her infant was a turkey so she baked it in the oven. Now I look back and think thats hilarious, but at the time I guess it scared me.
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Irieforester
Head to toe inH2O




Registered: 03/10/08
Posts: 515
Loc: That state seperating fro...
Last seen: 11 years, 8 months
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Re: State’s high court overturns man’s pot conviction [WA] [Re: clover606]
#8492279 - 06/06/08 10:47 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Since when do the courts care about this 'Constitution' thing anyways?
Quote:
unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance
Manufacture? He must have been running a cannabis factory
-------------------- I am still and forever learning Apollyphelion said: You can learn A LOT from shitting in the right set and setting!
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georgeM
Human



Registered: 07/05/05
Posts: 1,751
Loc: Osage Cuestas
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Re: State’s high court overturns man’s pot conviction [WA] [Re: Irieforester]
#8492623 - 06/06/08 12:49 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Since when do the courts care about this 'Constitution' thing anyways?
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Ojom
member




Registered: 10/27/99
Posts: 2,148
Last seen: 3 years, 8 months
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Re: State’s high court overturns man’s pot conviction [WA] [Re: georgeM]
#8494807 - 06/07/08 12:05 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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My question is: how do you spill diesel in your living room?
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
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Re: State’s high court overturns man’s pot conviction [WA] [Re: Irieforester]
#8495325 - 06/07/08 03:57 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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> Manufacture? He must have been running a cannabis factory
You're starting to sound like me...
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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