Drug charges range from minor possession offenses to more serious trafficking and distribution charges. Some drug offenses involving small amounts of drugs for personal use are misdemeanor offenses. Other violations of controlled substances laws are potential felony offenses.
Anyone accused of a drug offense could face an assortment of serious criminal penalties. They may also have several viable options for defending against the charges that they face. Sometimes, the best defense strategy involves challenging police behavior.
If law enforcement professionals violate someone’s rights, the state may not be able to use certain evidence when prosecuting them. Is it legal for police officers to physically search someone due to a suspicion of drugs?
Police rules limit pat-down searches
A pat-down or frisk search is relatively invasive. In some cases, a police officer frisking someone is a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights. The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures.
There have been many important court cases that help establish rules for police searches. For example, a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court helped set the standard for pat-down searches. There are a few scenarios in which police can pat people down looking for drugs.
The first is when they intend to take someone into state custody. Someone already under arrest is subject to searches intended to protect others in state custody. A search after an arrest prevents someone from taking drugs or weapons into a state facility.
Searches prior to arrest could also theoretically be legal. Sometimes, people give officers permission to pat them down. Other times, police officers have a reasonable suspicion that the individual might have a dangerous weapon in their possession.
Suspecting that someone may have drugs is not an adequate reason to physically search them. Only when officers worry about a weapon can they search someone’s person without their consent or adequate evidence to arrest that person.
If police officers find drugs during an inappropriate pat down, the state may bring charges against that person. However, they could work with a lawyer to challenge the inclusion of evidence obtained during an illegal search.
An attorney can potentially convince the court to set aside evidence obtained illegally. In some cases, that might lead to the dismissal of pending charges. Other times, a defendant may have a better chance of avoiding a conviction as a result of a rights violation. Either way, learning more about the limits on police searches may benefit those accused of drug offenses. Questionable searches can potentially play an important role in a criminal defense strategy.
