Attorney Colin Christopher Murphy's Legal Cases

Drug Crime

State v. A.L., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. FECR018440

Jun 22, 2010

OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed

The State was left with no option but to dismiss felony charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance as a Habitual Offender following a favorable June 22, 2010 ruling suppressing all evidence seized ... during a search warrant execution at defendant’s residence. I urged, and the district court found, that there were insufficient facts alleged in the affidavit to provide probable cause to issue the warrant. The district court concluded there was an insufficient nexus established connecting the particular residence to drug activity. It also found that the allegations of suspicious activity at the home were too remote in time to conclude that narcotics would be located there on that particular day, despite the fact that they were provided by a confidential informant. A conviction would have resulted in the imposition of an enhanced sentence of up to 15 years with a minimum sentence of 3 years served due to the number of prior felony convictions.

DUI and DWI

State v. G.R., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. OWOM005182

May 10, 2010

OUTCOME: OWI Amended to Public Intoxication

On May 10, 2010 the district court amended the charge of OWI to simple misdemeanor public intoxication after discovery revealed the arresting officer had not complied with the requirements of Iowa Code ... section 804.20, which mandates that an arrested person be allowed to contact a family member or attorney from the jail upon request else the breath test is suppressed.

DUI and DWI

State v. T.T., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. OWOM005248

Apr 14, 2010

OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed

On April 14, 2010 the district court dismissed the charges upon my motion after discovery revealed that the defendant had actually been arrested more than 45 days prior to the filing of the trial infor ... mation, which means that the charge could proceed no further. The fact that I was able to establish conflicting evidence regarding whether defendant was actually operating the vehicle at the time of the stop made dismissal all the more likely even without the speedy indictment issue.

Drug Crime

State v. J.T., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. SRCR018474

Mar 18, 2010

OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed

On March 18, 2010 the district court suppressed all evidence of controlled substances seized from defendant’s vehicle following a “positive” alert by narcotics detection dog. The court agreed with my ... argument that the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to detain defendant to await the dog after a traffic stop for a seat belt violation. Because the court agreed that additional detention was unwarranted, it was not necessary to rule on the issue of whether the dog alerted as trained. The State dismissed the charges following the favorable ruling.

DUI and DWI

State v. R.L., Iowa District Court for Frankin County No. OWCR501509

Feb 25, 2010

OUTCOME: Not Guilty Verdict

The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty of OWI in a case where the State was forced to focus exclusively on field sobriety test results after we won a hard-fought pre-trial motion to suppress all che ... mical test results. Having already prevailed in the administrative license revocation hearing, the verdict allowed my client to maintain his operating and commercial driving privileges.

Drug Crime

State v. H.S., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. FECR016978

Feb 17, 2010

OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed

On February 17, 2010 the district court suppressed all evidence seized following a search of a vehicle based on a “positive” alert by a narcotics detection dog. Extensive discovery of the K9’s backgro ... und and training revealed that the dog was not well trained in the detection of narcotics. With the assistance of expert testimony, I proved the “alert” by the K9 was no alert at all, but merely a change in breathing pattern. This behavior is typical of all dogs, not just those trained to detect the odor of narcotics, and therefore, was too vague to establish probable cause to search. The State soon dismissed charges of Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp. The ruling also led to the return of cash the State intended to forfeit as the proceeds of illegal activity.

Drug Crime

State v. K.M., Iowa District Court for Worth County No. FECR008460

Feb 01, 2010

OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed

The State dismissed class B felony charges of Possession with Intent to Manufacture a Controlled Substance after I successfully challenged the basis for a search warrant that led to the discovery of dr ... ug precursors and more than 5 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine. On February 1, 2010 the district court suppressed all evidence after agreeing with me that probable cause to issue the warrant was lacking. The information contained in the search warrant affidavit was based on multiple levels of hearsay without establishing the veracity of the individual supplying the information. It also failed to provide a sufficient nexus between criminal activity and this particular residence. Furthermore, the information was too stale in that it was weeks old and failed to adequately allege ongoing criminal activity. A class B felony for manufacturing a controlled substance carries an indeterminate term of up to 25 years in prison (300 months) of which more than one-third of the sentence or 8.33 years (100 months) must be served.

DUI and DWI

State v. S.E., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. OWOM005142

Jan 06, 2010

OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed

On January 6, 2010 the district court dismissed the charge of OWI in the interest of justice due to the fact that I had successfully challenged the revocation of defendant’s driving privileges before t ... he DOT. The evidence at the DOT hearing established that the officer had not complied with the requirements of Iowa Code section 804.20, which mandates that an arrested person be allowed to contact a family member or attorney from the jail upon request else the breath test is suppressed. Realizing an identical outcome was likely, the State conceded the issue in defendant’s favor.

DUI and DWI

State v. K.C., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. OWOM004895

Jun 19, 2009

OUTCOME: OWI Amended to Public Intoxication

On June 19, 2009 the district court suppressed the results of a DataMaster breath test on the grounds that the implied consent advisory was erroneous and misleading regarding the licensing consequences ... for a CDL holder driving a non-commercial vehicle who fails a breath test. The State amended the charges to simple misdemeanor public intoxication. The DOT also rescinded the license revocation and CDL disqualification resulting in a restoration of defendant’s regular and commercial driving privileges.

DUI and DWI

State v. S.K., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. OWOM4818

May 28, 2009

OUTCOME: Charges Dismissed

The district court suppressed the results of a DataMaster breath test after I successfully refuted the arresting officer’s claim that defendant “refused” to submit to a PBT test. I established that de ... fendant submitted to four PBT tests, each of which provided a reading within 0.003 of 0.06. Because she did not refuse a PBT, and there were no other grounds on which to invoke implied consent, the officer was not authorized to request a breath specimen for chemical testing. The charges were dismissed shortly after the suppression ruling. The administrative license revocation was also rescinded by the DOT resulting in a return of defendant’s driving privileges.

Colin Christopher Murphy's Legal Cases (185)

State v. A.L., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. FECR018440

State v. G.R., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. OWOM005182

State v. T.T., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. OWOM005248

State v. J.T., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. SRCR018474

State v. R.L., Iowa District Court for Frankin County No. OWCR501509

State v. H.S., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. FECR016978

State v. K.M., Iowa District Court for Worth County No. FECR008460

State v. S.E., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. OWOM005142

State v. K.C., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. OWOM004895

State v. S.K., Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County No. OWOM4818