Judge tosses evidence in CC party case

By Chris Baldus, cbaldus@charlescitypress.com

A decision by police to not seek a search warrant cost the prosecution its evidence in multiple cases of alleged underage drinking at a Charles City house party last summer.

Magistrate Leslie A. Dalen issued a ruling last week in  favor of defense attorney Judith O’Donohue’s motion to suppress on Fourth Amendment grounds evidence including breathalyzer test results that showed all of clients had ingested alcohol at the party, July 30, 2016.

Noting that the ruling made moot her  motion to dismiss the case on the grounds of the unconstitutional nature of the sound ordinance, O’Donohue requested that motion be dismissed. Magistrate Marilyn Dettmer agreed.

A prosecutorial motion to dismiss the cases is likely soon, according to Floyd County Attorney Rachel Ginbey. Assistant Floyd County Attorney Randall Tilton prosecuted the cases.

Dalen’s Jan. 31 ruling suppresses any statements, recordings, photographs taken in the course of the police search as well as breath test results.

The police officers’ rationale for entering the home was not compelling enough to justify a warrantless search.

Tilton argued on behalf of the police that they had three acceptable justifications to enter the home: danger of injury to officers or others, risk of fleeing suspects and destruction or concealment of evidence.

Dalen said the prosecution did not meet its burden of showing that justifiable exceptions to the warrant requirement existed.

“The Court does not believe that underage drinking in and of itself creates a threat of imminent injury which gives law enforcement the right to enter the privacy of one’s home without a warrant,” she wrote.

Regarding evidence destruction and the risk of flight, Dalen wrote that with the number of officers on scene, neither the suspects nor the evidence was going leave the house while a search warrant was sought.

“The Court believes that beer cans or containers are not the type of evidence that can readily be destroyed as, for example, by flushing down a drain or being burned,” she said.

Dalen also wrote: “The Court further considers that the offense for which the defendants have been charged is relatively minor, carrying scheduled fines.”

Eleven accused underage drinkers from Charles City were charged with first offense possession/purchase of alcohol under the legal age. One teen was charged with violating Floyd County Ordinance on consumption of alcoholic beverages by underage individuals.

A 13th accused underage drinker, a Charles City High School graduate from Colwell who has since turned 21 years old, pleaded guilty to minor consumption of alcohol and accepted his sentence immediately: a $65 fine plus a statutory 35 percent surcharge.

Most of the defendants are graduates of Charles City High School.

The Press is not publishing the names of the accused, which are public information, because it does not normally report on the progress of simple misdemeanor cases. The constitutional challen

Dalen ruled that the teens who lived at the house and their guests had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the garage, the house and the side and back yards. So, when an officer looked into the garage window, “he was no longer in a place where visitors could be expected to go.”

“The Court finds that the entry violated the defendants’ Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures,” Dalen ruled. “Thus, evidence obtained as a result of that violation is tainted and should be suppressed. “

“The defendants’ motion to suppress is hearby granted.”

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

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