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One of the common reasons law enforcement gives when they pull a person over in an OWI case is that the person was “weaving within their lane” and “they changed lanes without signaling” Usually this is sufficient to give law enforcement probable cause to stop a car and it goes downhill from there. STATE OF […]

Under Iowa law,804.20, if you are arrested for OWI, you have the absolute right to make telephone calls to your family and to try to find an attorney. Law enforcement does not have to tell you have the right to make a telephone call, however, law enforcement has to tell you who you can call […]

It is standard law enforcement procedure to tell a suspect being questioning that it is better to tell the truth (confess). However, if law enforcement says that by confessing the suspect will get a reduced charge or lesser punishment, then they step over the line and any “confession” made after that is inadmissible. In STATE […]

Whether a person has possession of a controlled substance is controlled by the facts of each case. Here a person was convicted of possession of a controlled substance because he was in the home and near where the drugs were found. The conviction was overturned and the case ordered dismissed in: STATE OF IOWA, vs. […]

Several recent court cases have once again confirmed that anything you say can and will be used against you even if you have not been given your Miranda warnings. In State v. O’Dell, the defendant was stopped for routine traffic violations.  Because of the very cold weather, the officer asked the defendant to sit in […]