Georgia Supreme Court declares entry and search of Doctor’s office illegal.
CMANS (drug) agents entered a business and seized certain documents and checks and cash. After many hearings in the trial court level, the case was taken to the Georgia Supreme Court. The Georgia Supreme Court agreed that CMANS agents conduct was wrong and illegal. The challenge put forth was unique and always overlooked . This Supreme Court case prevents police from stampeding into a citizen’s property.
This case is a prime example of the value of an experienced lawyer; and one that had the intelligence to examine a case and find the issues( all the issues). This case also shows the value of a lawyer with the intestinal fortitude to stay for the long haul and not give up, but instead make the prosecution (with their millions) give up.
Excerpt from 2017 Georgia Supreme Court opinion on this appeal:
The defense attorney argues that the search warrant was illegally executed because the officers did not comply with Georgia’s statutory requirements that officers knock and announce their presence before forcibly entering a building. The trial court concluded that an announcement simultaneous with entry satisfied the statute. Because the statute requires the announcement to precede entry, this conclusion was error.