Q: in lackawanna county, scranton, pa, pulled over after being followed by drug enforcement officers.
accused of "suspicious behavior" in a known drug area when in fact was dropping boyfriend at mothers house and drove around the block twice because they were arguing. boyfriend is a recovering heroin addict x 1 month, after many attempts to stay clean. when they finally pulled her over, they searched her and the car, They found after about ten minutes, two empty packets , under the carpet . She had no way of knowing the packets were there. She had thoroughly cleaned out the car weeks earlier, but had not torn up the carpet. She has never used drugs and has never had any legal problems. she worked three jobs to put herself through school, and has a degree in accounting. I believe her boyfriend is willing to take responsibility for the offense. The officers documented that they found the packets in the passenger door , which is not true and is clearly done to suggest that she must have just used them. Even being fingerprinted will impact her future. what can she do. She is my daughter
A:
I believe your daughter has a strong basis for filing a motion to suppress the evidence due to the fact that the reason for pulling her over is "suspicious". The officers will have to articulate what the "suspicious" activity is.
What may be "suspicious" to them may not be a legally justified reason to effectuate a stop let alone a search of the car. Even if you fail to win a motion to suppress, the Commonwealth will have a hard time proving "constructive possession" of the packets. To prove that, they have to show beyond a reasonable doubt that she KNEW of the existence of the packets AND that she intended to exercise control over them, which under your statement of facts will ne difficult for them.
Whether you win the motion, or get a not guilty verdict, your daughter would then be able to expunge her record of arrest, which includes a Court order to destroy any fingerprints that were taken during her processing.
Good luck.
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