Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

A Quincy woman, Jamie Manning was arrested for allegedly selling oxycodone out of her home according to a news account in the Patriot Ledger. The case is interesting to me as a Massachusetts drug crimes lawyer because it raises significant issues of whether Manning's Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the police conduct in the case. It appears as though Manning was arrested based on the police witnessing individuals coming and going from the house for brief periods of times. The police often claim that these observations are consistent with a drug transaction.

Under the United States Constitution and the Massachusetts State Constitution, known as the Declaration of Rights, any search of a residence without a warrant is presumptively unreasonable. The police in Manning's case will have to justify the search of the house based on some exception to the warrant requirement. It is likely that the police will argue that they had probable cause to believe the house was being used for the illegal sale of oxycodone. The officer would likely rely on the fact that an individual leaving the house claimed to have purchased drugs in the house. The police would have no reason to credit the reliability or veracity of this individual. Additionally, there would be no justification for not obtaining a search warrant and allowing a magistrate to ensure that probable cause justified the search of the residence. To pursue this Constitutional defense, Manning's Massachusetts criminal lawyer will have to file a motion to suppress with the court to challenge the legality of the search.