A defense attorney is expected to argue today that a local casino violated his client's Fourth Amendment rights when security officers searched the man and found him to be in possession of an illegal drug.
Steven Hill, 62, is facing a felony charge of possessing a controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of trespassing stemming from a Nov. 13 visit to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.
Previously banned from casino grounds, security personnel cited Hill for trespassing when they saw him playing a slot machine, according to defense attorney Roger Tansey. The security guards then brought Hill back to their office and searched him, uncovering a small amount of methamphetamine, the attorney said.
Tansey said he will argue that the guards' actions violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizures. Casino security guards do not possess the power to make arrests as do police officers, and thus are not permitted to perform such searches, Tansey claims.
"They had every right to go up to him and tell him he had to leave and they had every right to cite him for trespassing, but what they did do instead was critical," Tansey told City News Service.
Tansey said he will argue that because the guards found Hill to be in possession of drugs based on an illegal search, the felony count against him should be dismissed.
"What do you do if the police unreasonably come into your house and search it?" Tansey said. "Any evidence you find, you can't use in court."
Deputy District Attorney Amity Armes said she did not want to comment until the case was argued in court.
Tansey said he expects prosecutors to argue that the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, which operates the Indio casino, are not governed by the Fourth Amendment. However, he said he found court cases that mandate that Indian tribes are subject to the U.S. Constitution.
Tansey said the search would have been lawful had the Indian tribe given its security guards the power to arrest or if there existed a reasonable suspicion that Hill was committing a crime.
"Any time an officer sees somebody committing a crime, they arrest them, and any time an officer arrests somebody, they can search," Tansey said. "But the tribe has specifically chosen not to give (security guards) that power, and they acted as if they did."
Hill had been banned from the casino because its operators accused him of taking another patron's drink during a separate visit, Tansey said.
Last September, Tansey said, a drug possession charge against another one of his clients, Daniel Shelton, was tossed out on the grounds the attorney will argue in the Hill case. The District Attorney's Office has appealed that decision, he said.
Steven Hill, 62, is facing a felony charge of possessing a controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of trespassing stemming from a Nov. 13 visit to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.
Previously banned from casino grounds, security personnel cited Hill for trespassing when they saw him playing a slot machine, according to defense attorney Roger Tansey. The security guards then brought Hill back to their office and searched him, uncovering a small amount of methamphetamine, the attorney said.
Tansey said he will argue that the guards' actions violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizures. Casino security guards do not possess the power to make arrests as do police officers, and thus are not permitted to perform such searches, Tansey claims.
"They had every right to go up to him and tell him he had to leave and they had every right to cite him for trespassing, but what they did do instead was critical," Tansey told City News Service.
Tansey said he will argue that because the guards found Hill to be in possession of drugs based on an illegal search, the felony count against him should be dismissed.
"What do you do if the police unreasonably come into your house and search it?" Tansey said. "Any evidence you find, you can't use in court."
Deputy District Attorney Amity Armes said she did not want to comment until the case was argued in court.
Tansey said he expects prosecutors to argue that the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, which operates the Indio casino, are not governed by the Fourth Amendment. However, he said he found court cases that mandate that Indian tribes are subject to the U.S. Constitution.
Tansey said the search would have been lawful had the Indian tribe given its security guards the power to arrest or if there existed a reasonable suspicion that Hill was committing a crime.
"Any time an officer sees somebody committing a crime, they arrest them, and any time an officer arrests somebody, they can search," Tansey said. "But the tribe has specifically chosen not to give (security guards) that power, and they acted as if they did."
Hill had been banned from the casino because its operators accused him of taking another patron's drink during a separate visit, Tansey said.
Last September, Tansey said, a drug possession charge against another one of his clients, Daniel Shelton, was tossed out on the grounds the attorney will argue in the Hill case. The District Attorney's Office has appealed that decision, he said.
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