Attorney Colin Christopher Murphy's Legal Cases

DUI and DWI

D.J. v. Iowa Dept. of Transp., No. 24DOTOT0677

Sep 11, 2024

OUTCOME: Driver's License Revocation Rescinded

In this appeal of a driver's license revocation for an out-of-state OWI, we were able to persuade the Iowa DOT that the State of Missouri had not yet issued a final administrative action on our client' ... s driving privileges there despite what the Missouri Department of Revenue was electronically reporting to the State of Iowa. Having met our burden of proof with evidence that the revocation was not yet in effect there, the administrative law judge rescinded the revocation.

Drug Crime

State v. M.L., Iowa District Court for Hamilton County No. SRCR344135

Aug 26, 2024

OUTCOME: Drug Charges Dismissed

On August 26, 2024 the district court granted the State's motion to dismiss the charge of misdemeanor possession of marijuana after we filed a motion to suppress challenging the trooper's authority to ... search our client's commercial motor vehicle. Pretrial discovery revealed the trooper obtained consent to search the passenger compartment while our client was seated in the patrol car and was detained for further investigation. He was not informed he could refuse consent to search and was not told the business related to the stop had completed.

Drug Crime

State v. S.A., Worth County District Court No. SRCR011821

Dec 08, 2023

OUTCOME: Drug Charges Dismissed

On December 8, 2023, the Iowa Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Iowa Court of Appeals and the district court and held that law enforcement impermissibly extended the traffic stop to call for a ... K9 to sniff a commercial motor vehicle at a weigh station. It was a unanimous decision by the Court and ended three years of litigation over our clients constitutional rights to be free from illegal search and seizure.

Drug Crime

State v. A.R., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. SRCR032106

Oct 16, 2023

OUTCOME: Drug Charges Dismissed

On October 16, 2023 the district court granted the State's motion to dismiss the charge of possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia following a ruling suppressing all evidence seized foll ... owing an illegal search of our client's pockets. The police used the odor of cannabis coming from a car in which our client was a pocket to search his person. Rather than simply pat him down for weapons as the officer announced, he instead went straight into the pocket of a jacket and pulled out a nondescript vape device. Next, he compounded his error by further opening the device to expose the cart, which was branded with THC markings. Two illegal searches left the court with little choice but to suppress the evidence including the vape pen and THC cart.

DUI and DWI

State v. J.Y., Iowa District Court for Wayne County No. OWCR003539

Oct 10, 2023

OUTCOME: Felony OWI Amended to Public Intoxication

On October 10, 2023 the district court was left with little choice but to grant the State's request to amend this felony third-offense OWI to simple misdemeanor public intoxication following a pretrial ... motion ruling that suppressed a test refusal from evidence at trial. The evidence showed that the Iowa State Patrol trooper improperly requested that our client submit to urine testing for marijuana metabolites after his breath test was well under 0.08. The request was motivated more by anger about the low breath test result than it was any reasonable grounds that our client was under the influence of marijuana. Although there was a non-descript vape pen in our client's pocket, the trooper did not seize it and, in fact, let him enter the jail with it in his possession. There was never a belief that the pen contained anything other than nicotine until the breath test result. A great result and a testament to the process for unpacking OWI cases at GRL Law.

DUI and DWI

State v. G.R., Iowa District Court for Bremer County No. OWCR010446

Aug 30, 2023

OUTCOME: OWI Charge Dismissed

On August 30, 2023 I appeared at a final pretrial conference for an OWI case where we recently took over as trial counsel two weeks earlier. The case had been pending since late 2021 and involved an i ... nteresting urine test refusal issue. I got up to speed quickly and told the county attorney that we were ready to try the case this week (and in the process turning down the same offer that had been previously made before we were retained). Sometimes, just saying "ready for trial" says more than anything else. And with that, the State decided to dismiss the charges at the State's cost. A tip of the hat to the prosecutor for taking a second look at the facts. Certainly not a straightforward OWI prosecution. And we've been around the block enough to know our way with a jury. In the end, a great result for the client.

DUI and DWI

J.Y. v. Iowa Dept. of Transp., No. 23DOTOW2095

Jul 13, 2023

OUTCOME: Driver's License Revocation Rescinded

On July 13, 2023 the Administrative Law Judge rescinded a driver's license revocation on the basis that the Iowa State Patrol trooper had no reasonable grounds to believe our client was under the influ ... ence of a drug other than alcohol to request a urine sample, which was refused. We successfully argued that the lack of any field sobriety tests for drugs other than alcohol and the presence of a nicotine vape device did not authorize the trooper to pursue urine testing for drug metabolites.

DUI and DWI

State v. S.D., Iowa District Court for Osceola County No. OWCR007061

Jun 29, 2023

OUTCOME: OWI Charge Dismissed

On June 29, 2023, the district court granted the State's Motion to Dismiss following a ruling suppressing the results of a blood test obtained through implied consent. We challenge the results under I ... owa Code section 321J.11, the state's independent testing law. The state trooper originally requested a urine sample and our client agreed and also requested a blood sample. Under Iowa law, you can get an independent sample as long as you take the officer's requested test. Rather than obtain both a urine and blood sample, however, the trooper simply changed his request to blood. As a result, the State obtained its sample, but the driver never got an independent sample that he could preserve, test and offer in his own defense. The remedy for a violation of section 321J.11 is suppression of the state's test. Without a test result, the State decided there was not enough evidence to prosecute the driver for DUI and dismissed the charge as a result. That's a win!

Drug Crime

State v. R.N., Iowa District Court for Osceola County No. FECR007176

May 22, 2023

OUTCOME: Felony Drug Charges Dismissed

On May 22, 2023 the district court granted our motion to suppress evidence seized following a search warrant raid on a house after we convincingly demonstrated the warrant application did not portray a ... ny training or experience by the deputy to identify the odor of burnt or raw cannabis.

Drug Crime

State v. I.C., Iowa District Court for Osceola County No. FECR007177

May 22, 2023

OUTCOME: Felony Drug Charges Dismissed

On May 22, 2023 the district court granted our motion to suppress evidence seized following a search warrant raid on a house after we convincingly demonstrated the warrant application did not portray a ... ny training or experience by the deputy to identify the odor of burnt or raw cannabis.

Colin Christopher Murphy's Legal Cases (183)

D.J. v. Iowa Dept. of Transp., No. 24DOTOT0677

State v. M.L., Iowa District Court for Hamilton County No. SRCR344135

State v. S.A., Worth County District Court No. SRCR011821

State v. A.R., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. SRCR032106

State v. J.Y., Iowa District Court for Wayne County No. OWCR003539

State v. G.R., Iowa District Court for Bremer County No. OWCR010446

J.Y. v. Iowa Dept. of Transp., No. 23DOTOW2095

State v. S.D., Iowa District Court for Osceola County No. OWCR007061

State v. R.N., Iowa District Court for Osceola County No. FECR007176

State v. I.C., Iowa District Court for Osceola County No. FECR007177