Just a quick check on what I think is still the law - defendant is jailed in one county serving a sentence for a dwi. Def wore shoes to the jail which are the shoes believed to have been worn by this defendant in a homicide in a neighboring county. This def refused to let law enforcement have the shoes when the def was on the street but he wore them to the jail to serve his sentence. The shoes are among the def's property in the custody of jail personnel. My ranger has asked if he can seize the shoes without a warrant and take them to the lab for a shoe impression comparison. A quick Westlaw search revealed Oles v. State which basically says that a jail inmate has no privacy interests in their belongings (particularly clothing) which are held by the jail among his property. I just want to be as certain as I can be before advising my ranger to do the seizure without a warrant. I'm not at all certain that probable cause exists for a warrant since the crime took place in a neighboring county. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. You may post them or email me at distattorney@co.liberty.tx.us Thanks.

A westlaw search for Oles indicates that it is good law. Oles v. State, 993 S.W.2d 103, 109 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999) ("It is doubtful in these situations that any appellant would harbor a subjective belief that inventoried items are still private to him. [FN8] Notwithstanding that improbability, based on the application of the factors described above, it is nearly certain that society would not recognize this belief as objectively reasonable in these situations. This inevitably leads to the conclusion that it is proper for police to examine and test clothing validly within their control and custody, regardless of the existence of probable cause or exigent circumstances."). See 40 Tex Practice � 11.17, 11.24; 7A Tex Practice � 87.22 Supp. n.8 (citing Oles "Police may test the clothing of a person lawfully arrested and in custody for one offense in order to determine that person's involvement in an unrelated offense even where there is no probable cause or exigent circumstances")


You might also look at State v. Cheatam, 81 P.3d 830 (Wash. 2003) (following Oles and approving search of defendant's shoes that had been removed at jail).

and I'm not doing much (lack of motivation) so I'm reading posts. Here is my question. How quickly can he get the shoe imprint done? If that guy goes to leave the jail, and his shoes are not available, is it theft (absent a warrant?). He only went there to serve a sentence, which he will leave. He brought enough clothing for the task and no more. Does it matter for warrant purposes that the crime happened in another county? Can't that county's Ranger swear out an affidavit to the Judge of this county?