Also known as: dopes · doped · doping · narcotics · illegal drugs
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A narcotic substance, especially one used or possessed illegally.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Dominic Drake was pulled over for a broken taillight. Officers walked a certified narcotics dog around his car. The dog alerted at the trunk, leading officers to open it and find several bricks of dope. The alert supplied probable cause for the search.
Daphne Doyle checked a suitcase at the airport. Officers developed reasonable suspicion it contained dope and detained the bag for ninety minutes before a dog could sniff it. The prolonged detention without probable cause rendered the seizure unreasonable.
Judge Derek Douglas regularly used dope and socialized with known dealers. The conduct occurred outside the courtroom yet still violated canons requiring judges to preserve public confidence in the judiciary.
David Dawson was stopped on reasonable suspicion of carrying dope. The officer patted him down and felt a hard object consistent with drug packaging. The frisk yielded probable cause to arrest and seize the dope.
Doris Duffy was arrested solely because she was addicted to dope. The prosecution offered no evidence of current possession or use. The charge failed because addiction alone cannot be punished as a crime.
Denise Donovan was tried for possessing dope. The state introduced a lab certificate identifying the substance without calling the analyst. The certificate was testimonial and required confrontation under the Sixth Amendment.
Yes. Once a person becomes aware of the dope and retains control long enough to discard or report it, that knowing retention counts as a voluntary act supporting liability.
Supporting sources
A dog sniff is not a search because it reveals only the presence or absence of contraband. Prolonged detention of the luggage beyond the time needed for the sniff, however, may violate the Fourth Amendment.
Supporting sources
Yes. Out-of-role unlawful conduct such as using dope and associating with dealers brings the judicial office into disrepute and violates canons requiring judges to uphold public confidence in the judiciary.
Supporting sources
…hardly persuasive when we consider that a grand jury inquiry, the filing of a certiorari petition, and certainly the purchase of narcotics by an undercover agent from a prospective defendant may all be equally "critical" yet provision of counsel and advice on that score have never been thought compelled by the Constitution in…