DISMISSED

Dismissal of all charges based on bad search – Ottawa County – Keeley Blanchard represented two college students charged with Minor in Possession of Alcohol. These students were with a small group of people in their apartment one evening, when the police came to the door. The police suspected that there was underage drinking going on inside the apartment, and knocked at the door. When my clients refused to answer the door, one officer illegally climbed up on a six-foot deck without access from the ground and looked into the apartment through a sliding glass door that was locked. Ultimately, four officers entered the front door of the home without consent of my clients and without a warrant, and issued MIP tickets to those inside. We filed a motion to suppress and dismiss based upon the illegal search, and the prosecutor dismissed all charges against our clients on the day of the motion hearing.