By Attorney Scott Martin, Criminal Defense Attorney, MN
If you are currently on probation in MN you have more than likely assigned to a probation officer. Your defense lawyer will also be notified of your current probationary or parole status.
Probationers and parolees have limited protections against warrant-less or suspicion-less searches. A probationer's home can be searched by a probation officer without a warrant if "reasonable grounds" exist to support the search. Where a probationer agrees to be the subject of a search, the case law has uniformly held that reasonable suspicion exists.
However, the search must be reasonably related to the purpose for which the probationer is on supervision. For instance, where a search conducted by a parole agent was for drugs, but the suspected violation was for a recent arrest, the search was not permissible.
Suppression may be a viable option for state parolees. Further, police may not simply "tag along" on parole searches. The police still have a probable cause standard for conducting warrantless searches and may not use the parole agents as a "stalking horse" to gain access to a parolee's residence.
If you are on probation or parole and have been subjected to a search of your person, car, or home and evidence has been seized, you should contact an experienced attorney before your next court date.
There are other issues associated with probation such as revocation.
When a parolee has a revocation hearing based on pending criminal charges, it is limited to an "Admit/Deny" the pending charges. Typically, all that is required to prove pending criminal charges is an official record of the case. If an offender admits the pending charges, the question is solely whether or not the parolee will be detained in DOC custody, detained for a period of time based on the level of the pending charges, or released back onto supervision until the case has been resolved.
If you are in need of an experienced criminal defense lawyer in the Minneapolis Saint Paul area, contact Scott Martin Law. Criminal Defense, DUI, Family Law (Divorce).
Scott Martin Law
4856 Banning Ave
White Bear Lake, MN. 55110
www.scottmartinlaw.com
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