Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: Experience and Confidence Count
Once a person comes under police suspicion for dealing drugs, does that person retain any constitutionally protected right to privacy in his own home? Of course, the answer is “not much” if the police have some specific reason to believe that the house has been used for storing or selling drugs. But what if the police have only general information that the home-owner is dealing drugs, without any specific information connecting the house to drug trafficking? Even then, the Seventh Circuit indicated last week, the police may have probable cause to search the house for evidence of drug transactions.
John Orozco was convicted of drug and gun offenses based, in part, on evidence found in his home while police executed a search warrant. On appeal, he argued that the evidence should have been suppressed because the warrant was issued without probable cause.