Question 4

Arizona has many immigration check points that are arresting people for drug crimes. Is that legal and what rights does someone have in this circumstance? (transcribed from video interview with Dwane Cates, Attorney at law Phoenix AZ www. azlaw4u.com)

These immigration checkpoints are legal. Technically, the United States Supreme court said if the main purpose of a check point is immigration that it's legal and that it's legal while they're getting that immigration information to run a drug dog around your car. Now, they'll do that and if the drug dog alerts to the car indicating the presence of drugs, they have the right to search your car. Now, they'll search your car and if they find drugs, you'll be arrested.

So what if someone is caught with a small amount of drugs in their possession, what happens then?

Well if you're caught with a small amount of marijuana, they'll charge you with attempted possession of marijuana. Now, they do that because they make thousands of arrests a year, literally thousands of people are arrested for a half a gram, a quarter, a gram, a gram of marijuana. Now if they put all those cases into the felony court, it would overwhelm the felony court, but they charge it as an attempt which allows it to be treated as a misdemeanor and they can go to the justice court. And most of the cases, like at the immigration check point go to the wealth and justice court which has the time and energy to devote to these misdemeanor cases. Now if you're caught with a large amount of drugs or a large amount of marijuana or any drugs such as cocaine or heroine or meth amphetamine, they will treat that as a felony and you won't be cited and released. You will be held until a police officer, either a highway patrolman or sheriff, can make it out to the check point. They will take you into custody, take you into the detention center and you'll have to see a judge within 24 hours.