Search & Seizure Laws

Miami Search and Seizure Law Attorney

Many drug and weapon cases result in a dismissal of charges because of police misconduct. The law strictly controls the ability of police officers to search people, to search their personal property, and to seize anything they find. The law in this area is constantly changing. An attorney who specializes in criminal defense is specifically trained to identify and properly assert your right to be free from an illegal search or seizure.

At the Law Offices of Bruce A. Alter we have enjoyed a great deal of success in challenging the police conduct in a case. For more than 30 years Bruce Alter has litigated cases in South Florida and throughout the United States involving search and seizure issues. If you have been charged with a drug or weapons offense, your lawyer needs to carefully analyze the facts of the case and determine if the police officers have strictly complied with all of the search and seizure requirements.

If the police broke the law, then the evidence can be suppressed. Most often, this will result in the dismissal of all charges. Search and seizure law applies with equal force to forfeitures.

Did the police have the lawful authority to search you?

As a general rule, the police need a search warrant to search a person or place. If police don't have a warrant, their ability to search you or your property is restricted. Prosecutors must then convince the judge that an "exception" to the Warrant requirement existed. While there are many, a common one is "consent."

The police will often say that they asked for permission to search and that the person "voluntarily consented". Most people do not understand that they have a Constitutional right to refuse to be searched under the Fourth Amendment, and so they agree. However, the law makes a distinction between voluntarily consenting to a search and a mere acquiescence to authority. For example, if police stop a person, surround him, show their guns and badges, and then ask if they can search, the person might agree because he is intimidated. This is different than "consenting". A skilled lawyer will then convince a judge that someone in these circumstances would not have felt that they had a choice. Their "consent" was the product of coercion, and not freely and knowingly given. This might result in a dismissal of the charges.

The law in the area of search and seizure is constantly changing and evolving as courts make new rulings. Your lawyer has to keep up to date on search and seizure case law to give you the best legal defense.

Free consultation: Contact Miami search and seizure lawyer Bruce Alter if you have been charged with a crime.