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NEW LAW ALLOWS FOR AUTOMATIC EXPUNGMENTS OF YOUR CRIMINAL RECORD IN KENTUCKY

Until recently if you had your criminal case dismissed or if you were acquitted of the charges, the law required a 60 day waiting period and you had obtain a copy of your criminal background check from the Kentucky State Police and pay a fee to get the record to the tune of $40.00.

Now: If your charges were dismissed and or you were acquitted of the charges then the expugnement process is automatic and takes place within 30 days.

Dismissed charges cannot be in exchange for a plea deal to another offense, or if several cases are dismissed merged.

CRIMINAL FELONY DIVERSION

 What is diversion? You plead guilty, but the prosecution with the approval of the judge agree that the guilty plea can be set aside after a certain amount of time and if all of the conditions are met. You are not sentenced. What happens when you have compiled with all of the diversion requirements. MAKE A MOTION TO TERMINATE DIVERSION AND A MOTION TO DISMISS. If you forget to make this motion, your guilty plea is not set aside. It requires affirmative steps on your part.

WHAT THE POLICE CAN AND CAN’T SEARCH

The 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution protects your rights from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Can the police search my phone in Kentucky incident to arrest? No!  

Supreme Court of the United States has held there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of one’s cell phone. Accordingly, a search warrant is generally required before an officer can search the data contained within a person’s cell phone, and the warrant must meet the particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court of the United States has held there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of one’s cell phone. Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373, 385-86, 134 S. Ct. 2473, 2484-85, 189 L. Ed. 2d 430 (2014).

In Kentucky in Tucker v. Commonwealth, the Kentucky Court of Appeals held that the search can pre-date the date of the crimes and the fact that officers searched data not falling within the specified time frame does not invalidate the search and is not grounds for suppression of the evidence.

Can the police search my license plate in Kentucky?

Gregory Taft v. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Kentucky Supreme Court said there is no expectation of privacy in a license plate. Police can search a license plate if they have a reasonable suspicion that a criminal act occurred or is occurring.

Can the police search the trunk of my car in Kentucky?

A search is not unreasonable if based on objective facts that would justify the issuance of a warrant, even though a warrant has not actually been obtained.

However, the rationale justifying the automobile exception does not apply so as to permit a warrantless search of any movable container that is believed to be carrying an illicit substance and that is found in a public place—even when the container is placed in a vehicle (not otherwise believed to be carrying contraband.

Where police officers have probable cause to search an entire vehicle, they may conduct a warrantless search of every part of the vehicle and its contents, including all containers and packages, that may conceal the object of the search. The scope of the search is not defined by the nature of the container in which the contraband is secreted.  Rather, it is defined by the object of the search and the places in which there is probable cause to believe that it may be found. For example, probable cause to believe that undocumented aliens are being transported in a van will not justify a warrantless search of a suitcase.

 

Can my roommate or a common occupant consent to the search of my residence when I am not home?  Common Occupant:

When you are not home yes. A common occupant can consent when you are not there. However if you are there and you object while your common occupant consents, then No.

Roommate: It depends on the relationship and access allowed to the roommate.

Copyright Anna Aleksander Disclaimer: This article should not be relied upon as legal advice.

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