Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Drug Related (Possession or sale) |
Sentence: |
Probation |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2014 |
Year Convicted: |
2014 |
Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Idaho |
County or Region of Crime: |
Canyon |
City of Crime: |
Nampa |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Natasha Lynn Bly was wrongly convicted in 2014 of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) in Nampa, Idaho. The trial judge denied Bly's pre-trial motion to suppress the evidence her prosecution was based on, that Bly argued was illegally obtained because the officer did not have probable cause to detain and search her on April 15, 2014 solely based on the fact she was in a high crime area of town and he thought she was engaging in "strange behavior." After the judge's ruling Bly pled guilty, reversing the right to appeal his evidence suppression ruling. Bly was sentenced to probation. On January 7, 2016 the Idaho Court of Appeals unanimously reversed Bly's conviction on the basis the trial judge erred by denying her motion to suppress the evidence of the police search, which the appeals court ruled was unconstitutional because the officer did not have probable cause to search her. The court found that none of the circumstances preceding the officers detention and search of Bly justified his suspicion she was involved in criminal activity. On September 22, 2015 Bly was arrested and charged with failing to comply with the conditions of her sentence. That charge may be dismissed because it was predicated on the validity of her original drug conviction." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Illegal search by officer who did not have probable cause to detain and search Bly. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On January 7, 2016 the Idaho Court of Appeals unanimously reversed Bly's conviction on the basis the trial judge erred by denying her motion to suppress the evidence of the police search, which the appeals court ruled was unconstitutional because the officer did not have probable cause to search her." |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"State of Idaho v. Natasha Lynn Bly, No. 42637 (ID Ct. of Appeals, 1-7-2016) (Reversing conviction based on trial judge allowing the prosecution to use illegally obtained evidence.)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.isc.idaho.gov/opinions/42637.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Nampa womans drug conviction overturned, By John Sowell (Staff), Idaho Statesman (Boise, ID), January 8, 2016" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article53728070.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org