![]() ![]() ![]() You can also learn more about defending drug crimes by visiting Attorney DelSignore website. To learn more about current issues in Massachusetts Criminal Law, you can follow This usually consists of, but is not limited. To read the decision in Costa you can find it on the Social Law website. Confidential Reliable Informant: A person whose reliability and credibility have previously been established. Also, defense lawyers should attack the reliability and basis of knowledge of the informant. Confidential Informant: Understanding Law Enforcements Most Valuable Tool explores the covert and clandestine world of informants-revealing the secrets of how to find them and make the most out of them, while at the same time, avoiding the pitfalls of dealing with them. When defending a drug case based on a confidential informant, look at the set up of the house that is the target of the warrant. The affidavit did not indicate why surveillance inside the apartment was unreasonable and did not provide corroboration that the CI purchased drugs from the target. Rachel was a 23-year-old Florida State University graduate, who was murdered while acting as a police informant in a botched drug sting. The Appeals Court noted that it expects the following details in the affidavit to support probable cause to search the residence: the layout of the building, the number of apartments, the location of the defendant’s apartment, the feasibility of observing the informant enter the apartments. In Costa, the Appeals Court found that when there is a large number of units, the police have not watched the informant to supervise the buy to provide probable cause. If there are only a few units in the apartment building, it may be sufficient to infer that the informant purchased narcotcis from the target.The police escort or follow the informant to the premises where it is alleged that the illegal activity is occurring and watch the informant.How does the Court determine if there is probable cause to search a house based on a Controlled Buy?Ī controlled buy will provide proable cause for the police to obtain a search warrant if the following conditions are met. ![]() I have handled many drug cases where the New Bedford police have used an informant to attempt to get a warrant. The Costa case involved this type of investigation by the New Bedford police department where they seek to search a house based on probable cause being established as a result of a controlled drug buy. The informant will provide information that results in the police obtaining a warrant. In drug distribituion and trafficking offenses, it is very common that the police will obtain a warrant to search a house based on information provided by a confidential informant. The Appeals Court found that a search warrant was not based on probable cause as it did not establish the relialbiity of the confidential informant. Costa, which began as a drug distribution case out of the New Bedford District Court and was decided by the Massachusetts Appeals Court on April 10, 2020. Those facing a Massachusetts Drug Distribution or Trafficking charge often contest the Constitutional basis of the search and seizure as part of the defense to the case. ![]()
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