|
|
Site NavigationHomeAbout us People's Police Report Shootings & deaths Cool links Other Information Contact info Donate
|
LEGAL BRIEFS: Two Cases Strengthen Rights on Searches and Self-Incrimination; One Weakens Privacy Rights In an Oregon Court of Appeals case, judges sided with Weston Young, who claimed his Fourth Amendment rights were violated (Oregonian, January 28). Arrested for having 12 bags of marijuana in his backpack, Young, 19, was searched by Cornelius police officer Miguel Monico after the car he was in broke down. The officer asked what was wrong, but when the driver stepped out of the car and reached down toward the floorboard, Monico drew his gun and told the driver and passengers he would shoot them if they moved. Smelling marijuana, the officer searched the car and backpack and found the pot. Young was found guilty, but appealed, maintaining he was illegally searched. The court determined the officer was not justified in seizing the backpack and overturned the conviction. Monico was hired by the Washington County Sheriff when Cornelius got rid of its police department but was fired after a federal jury found he'd fabricated evidence in a separate case. According to the Portland Tribune (December 26), the Oregon Supreme Court upheld a decision that a Hillsboro man convicted of robbery should get a new trial. The justices ruled Celso Avila- Nava's statements were not admissible because he invoked his right to silence. After having his rights explained, Avila-Nava said he would not be responding, but continued to answer questions asked by the police. The court determined those statements had to be excluded. In February, the Oregon Court of Appeals found a houseless man did not have a right to privacy in a structure he made from a shopping cart and tarps because it was not a legal residence. It was a temporary shelter that stuck out two feet onto a Portland sidewalk. Therefore, when the police looked in and saw Gregory Tegland smoking methamphetamine, they were within their rights to arrest him. Convicted of possession of meth and erecting a structure on public property, Tegland appealed, claiming police had conducted an unlawful search and seizure, thus violating his rights. However, the court determined that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a temporary shelter on public property unless the government has allowed it (Oregonian, February 12). |
May, 2015
|
|
Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#65 Table of Contents
|