KY COA Dec 7 - Brooks- 4th Amendment

Commonwealth v. Brooks, 2011-CA-002075

Police obtained consent, in writing, to search a home.  Several people were in the home and secured at the time.  Police found a purse in the basement.  They searched the purse and found drugs.  The trial court suppressed the evidence.  The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the suppression.  They stated that the third party consent to search the home did not extend to the purse found in the basement and there was no exception to the warrant requirement in this situation.

Contributed by John Landon

DPA Article in NAMI Winter Newsletter

The Criminal Defense Role: Our Part, And The Help We Need: by John Landon, from the KY Department of Public Advocacy

The Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, our state’s public defender program, represents clients suffering from mental illness on a daily basis. We have clients undergoing evaluations for criminal responsibility, we represent clients at competency hearings, and we represent many clients undergoing civil commitment procedures. In short, most of our attorneys know the intersection of mental illness and the criminal justice system. The Fayette County Office of the department set up a team of lawyers specializing in mental health issues to address some of the problems faced. However, we often see a lack of structured support for clients once their criminal cases have been resolved, leading to re-cidivism. Also, sometimes this lack of support becomes a factor when we attempt to negotiate a favorable resolution.

Complete article on page 2-3