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Background Checks on People – Use the Same Tools That Law Enforcement and Detectives Use
We live in a world where people are meeting other people online every day. Web users surf the net to find a new employee, to find a room mate or to find companion and love. Due to the increase in popularity in dating web sites and all the services offered in places like craigslist, now a lot of these same users are turning to the web to run background checks on people and make sure that they are not going out with a potential predator or sex offender or that the person that they are bringing in as a room mate or a new employee are not wanted felons.
To do these background searches you can either go to a local state repository of public information and records, you can hire a private detective or a cop to do it for you or you could simply find one of the multiple web directories that offer this information for a small fee.
Criminal Background Searches – Find Out Information Once Only Available to Law Enforcement
Up until recently, criminal background checks would have had to have been done through either a private investigator or an actual law enforcement office. Thanks to technology you are now able to do the investigation yourself with the help of criminal background check websites.
While many times businesses use the service to check a person’s background before they hire them, people are now beginning to use these to check up on people who surround them personally. The truth of the matter is you just really never know who a person is when you first meet them. You could actually know someone for quite a few years and really not know much about their past.
Not only can you find out if they have ever been charged or convicted of a felony. You can also find out information such as a sex offender charges, financial information and also they may be associated with.
Changes to Search Incident to Arrest After Arizona Vs Gant
Do I have a Valid Motion to Suppress?
Clients often ask criminal defense attorneys whether the police can lawfully search their vehicle after being arrested by the police.
In short, the answer may depend as to the reason for the arrest. In the event that the police arrest an individual for a traffic-related offense (i.e. driving while license suspended, leaving the scene of an accident, etc.) the police may be barred from searching the arrestee’s vehicle after the arrestee has been detained outside of the vehicle. Conversely, if the police arrest an individual for a drug-related offense (i.e. possession of marijuana located in plain view in the center console) a search of the arrestee’s vehicle is likely permitted even if the police have detained the arrestee outside their vehicle.
The law is well-settled that the police cannot search an arrestee’s vehicle without a warrant signed by a neutral and detached magistrate unless they can point to valid exception to the warrant requirement. One such exception to the warrant requirement is “search incident to a lawful arrest.” This particular exception derives from interest in officer safety and evidence preservation that are typically implicated in arrest situations.
The police may search a vehicle incident to recent occupant’s arrest “only when the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search” or when it is “reasonable to believe evidence relevant to the crime of the arrest might be found in the vehicle.” When these justifications are absent, a search of the arrestee’s vehicle will be unreasonable unless the police obtain a warrant or show that another exception to the warrant requirement applies (i.e. consent).
