State v. J.A.

Dismissed upon North Star's motion to dismiss for an unconstitutional search. The client was charged with transporting untaxed tobacco product. He ran out of gas and was stopped on the exit ramp. A state trooper pulled up behind him during a welfare check, offered to assist by staying behind him to ensure traffic new of the stopped truck. But, instead of doing that, the trooper continued asking questions about what our client was doing. He detected the client was acting nervous. So, the trooper kept prying and eventually asked to search the back of the truck. The only "suspicious" behavior was the client's nerves, which is not enough to continue interrogating him and eventually ask to search the truck. The Court agreed, ruling from the bench even(!), that this conduct by the trooper violated the client's constitutional guarantees to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Without the evidence gathered during the illegal search, the County was forced to dismiss the case.