Can this be dismissed in court? 12 Answers as of February 23, 2012

Search and seizure law is very complex and requires a detailed analysis of all the facts and circumstances surrounding the search. The only way to really assess whether or not the search in your case was legal is to sit down with an experienced criminal defense lawyer and have a very thorough discussion of what happened.

Case will not be dismissed, but a motion to quash, filed by your attorney, assuming you have a real lawyer and not a public defender, could result in the suppression of contraband found as a result of search.

No guarantee of that. Must file motion to suppress and see if granted. Then the question is what, if any, evidence is left to support a conviction.

Will it be? I assume you mean charges dismissed which were brought after the search found evidence to be used against you. That is up to the judge, and would only be as a result of the outcome of a successful evidence suppression motion. When arrested or charged with any crime, the proper questions are, can any evidence obtained in a test, search or confession be used against you, can you be convicted, and what can you do? Raise all appropriate defenses with whatever witnesses, evidence and sympathies are available for legal arguments, for evidence suppression or other motions, or for trial. If you don't know how to represent yourself effectively against an experienced prosecutor intending to convict, then hire an attorney that does, who will try to get a dismissal, diversion program, reduction, or other decent outcome through plea bargain, or take it to trial if appropriate.

Night service is after 10:00 pm. If the warrant was not endorsed for night service, it could be an issue that may lead to suppression of evidence against you. Search issues are very fact-specific, so you'll need to discuss this in detail with you attorney.

The law says that a search pursuant to a warrant must be conducted at a reasonable time. The fact that the warrant in your case specified that the search was not to be conducted in the PM hours and it was, is one piece of evidence that the search was conducted at an unreasonable time. But, the final determination is for the judge to make based on all the circumstance. In situations like this, the police come up with all kinds of explanations to justify the search such as they reasonable believed you would destroy the evidence if they waited until morning. Most judges tend to give the police considerable deference. Only if there is some hard evidence that they are lying are they likely to discount their word. In short, the fact that they searched your house at a time the warrant said they weren't supposed to will not automatically invalidate the search. You should consult a criminal defense attorney right away.

You better have a lawyer challenge it in court. It often involves he said she said, and charges don't get dismissed automatically. It takes a good lawyer in court.

It is possible that your attorney can attack the warrant to find the search not valid, and if granted, subsequently get the charges dismissed. Consult with a criminal defense attorney in your area to discuss further.

Doubtful but maybe...one would have to show prejudice.

PM search means a night time search. Generally that means between the hours of 7pm to 7am. It does not mean anytime after 11:59 a.m.