Can anyone help with unlawful search and seizure?

The following is an email sent to several attorneys and legal aid without any response or assistance. Please contact me if you have a legal background and can help. Thanks.


Hello:

I have a few questions I hoped you could answer. Are you licensed in any or all of Oklahoma? Do you handle civil and criminal cases? With my wife and I being EXTREMELY low income, do you ever handle cases on a contingent fee basis, especially if you feel it's a very strong case?

One of our county judges signed a search warrant on our home (supposedly) and the sheriff conducted the search. Not only are their accusations 100% fraudulent, the warrant is saturated with completely erroneous information such as wrong location, wrong house color, wrong roof color, wrong outbuildings, misspelled name, etc. This is clearly a case of illegal search and seizure by the county. They even damaged our property and left our place a mess.

Can anyone please help? loveladyrick@yahoo.com

Contact your public defender's office. If your income is above their levels, go to legal aid.

The errors on the warrant may/may not void it. If there are errors, but your home is still clearly identifiable as the one intended to be searched (example: "the apartment located above Willie's Bar at 121 Maple Street", but the place is actually Wiley's Bar at 1211 Maple Street, but that's the only apartment like that in the area), the warrant will probably stick. If it's impossible to tell which place is to be searched, the warrant is probably no good, and any evidence can be suppressed.

It doesn't matter if the accusations are false, as long as probable cause existed enough to get a judge to sign.

If they damaged your house, but did so looking in legitimate places for evidence, you're out of luck. If they messed the place within reason, you're out of luck. If they were unreasonable (e.g. pulling up carpet to look for a shotgun), then you may have grounds for a civil rights claim against the police.

Talk to a lawyer!

I woun't expect a response because it would not be a simple response. Also, the email does not make it sound likely that the lawyer is going to make money on it. In some ways it sounds like a criminal case (and contingent fees are illegal in crimina cases). In other ways it sounds civil but with minimal damages. Most will not bother responding

Since you are of low income let me make suggestions that will probably not require you to hire an attorney: First, have you tried calling the County Sherriff himself (or herself) to straighten this out? Sometimes, I find it suprising how many people forget the first and easiest step. If your claims are true, then he should be able initiate some kind of remedial action.

Second, try discussing the situation with your legislators, the County Mayor, or any other local representatives that could speak to the Sherriff on your behalf. I would suggest that you NOT jump the gun and try to go to court.