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Photographing defendant's face with ultraviolet light shining on it is not a search

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Photographing defendant's face to determine what type of "mace" he was sprayed with by the officer was not an illegal search. The photograph put the lie on the defendant's story, and he was prosecuted for assault on an officer. Williams v. State, 2008 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 81 (April 4, 2008): Professor LaFave cites Commonwealth v. DeWitt, 314 A.2d 27 (1973), as illustrative of those cases in which courts have determined that use of an ultraviolet light in such instances does not constitute a search. In that case, customs agents found hashish hidden in a table with a false top, which had been shipped into the United States from overseas. The agents treated the hashish with fluorescent grease, repackaged it, and allowed it to be delivered. Agents then went to the address where the delivery had been made to execute a warrant for the hashish...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 26, 2008 (boomark / email).