15 months ago the APD(Albany Police Department in Oregon) served a search warrant at our home. We had just gotten a settlement from a major motorcycle wreck my other half was in and had cash money in our home. We have documents to prove we had just gotten this money 6 days prior to the search warrant. Even before they found the money we told them about it and where to find it.The APD took this money and are keeping it as evidence to use at our criminal trial. Which we have been waiting patiently but the local DA keeps postponing the trial. (twice now) Last time we appeared at court the Judge more or less told the DA come Jan.14 he will set a trial date at that time so we are looking at maybe sometime in April 2008. That is 18 months after the arrest. Don't we have a right to a speedy trial and How can they keep our money that long especially when it was all legally obtained. What can we do about getting our money back NOW!! Can I contact someone at the state Capitol or the attorney generals office????? We need that money back to live on since I lost my job over all this. Which I have not been convicted of any crime but I still lost my job til the outcome of the trial. Please if you have any advise or what the laws are please let me know ASAP. Oh my other half is unable to work now because of his injuries which include, severe tramatic brain injury to the front lobe, legally blind, broke his back and neck in 3 places each and shattered every bone in his face except the roof of his mouth. Like he really needs all this extra stress in his life.
Thank You ds1btch in Corvallis/Albany Oregon

{added by OP 11/15-01:56 PM}
To answer your ? yes the money came in a check but with a million dollars worth of medical bills and Oregon state auto insurance doesn't require for medical expenses on each individual incident we had medical liens against us. So we cashed it and was keeping the money in our possesiuon until we could legally fix the medical liens.
The charges are a joke. I had hired a young man to help pack things up and take down our trampoline and pool and help get everything ready for us to move. I have receipts I hired and paid him cash money which he had worked that day of the search warrant. I didn't do a background check on the man. Which now I know next time I will if there is a next time. Because since all of this I have done a background check and he has drug charges on his record. He apparently left a little bag with a dust of white substance in our garage which the APD is saying it is meth then also they are saying there is not enough there to weigh. So they are charging us with possesion of a controlled substance and since our 2 daughters 16 & 13 were there endangering the life of a minor and child neglect. Take into consideration I'm 43 and my other half is 46 and we have no record what so ever and have not been convicted of anything in our whole life. Except maybe a couple traffic vioolations nothing more than red light or a speeding ticket over the past 25 years.
Does that help to answer my question!

ScottGem

Umm you left out two very important pieces of info. Namely what are you being charged with and what is your attorney doing about the situation.

The speedy trial issue has been debated by courts and has never been fully defined. I gather you are currnetly out on bail which mitigates the need for a speedy trial. Googling right to speedy trial will get you some interesting info on the issue.

As for keeping the money, this really bears directly on what you are charged with. There can be good and valid reasons why the money is considered evidence. Frankly, I don't quite understand why this was in cash. Assuming the settlement was paid by an insurance company, I know they wouldn't have paid in cash.

ds1btch

please read what I attached to the question!

ScottGem

First to post a followup just reply to the thread. Don't edit your original note as that can get confusing.

I understand your side of it now, but things still bother me. It really does not make any sense to cash the check. Did you have a lawyer? If so, I would assume he got the check, took his cut and then issue the balance to you. What you should have done is have the lawyer hold the funds and pay the outstanding medical bills from it on your behalf. Do you think the creditors are going to accept large sums of cash?

How did the police find this white substance? If it was during the search then what did they obtain the search warrant for? A judge has to have grounds to issue a warrant. If the presence of the powder was the justfication for the warrant then how did they find the powder in the first place?

And you did not answer what your attorney has done for you.

Fr_Chuck

Yes the police does not just come up into your home and search it. They had to have probable cause and a search warrant. Without that they would not have came to your home, I am sure I have hired drug users 100's of time to do work around my property.

And yes, unless your attorney can file to get the money released, it is still evidence and will be held till trial is over. IF you lose, the money may just be keep ( never returned) because it would be considered proceeds of a drug sell.

excon

Hello ds:

You have very legitimate questions. What I don't understand is why you're asking US and not your lawyer. If it's because you don't have a lawyer, that's a very, very big mistake.

If you don't have anybody looking out for you in the court system, then the prosecutor will do as he pleases and there's nobody to stop him.

I dunno. You could lose your children. You could go to the slam. If it were me, I'D have a lawyer.

excon