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County Not Liable In Raid
A federal judge denied a lawyer’s attempt to have Fayette County held liable for an invalid search warrant during an Aug. 2009 raid at a “Funk Fest” on the property of the Church of Universal Love and Music in Pennsylvania.
Nearly two dozen people were arrested on drug charges in the raid at the outdoor music festival. However, U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose later ruled the warrant was unconstitutional because it wasn’t supported by probable cause.
The judge also declined to declare that state forfeiture of the church property was invalid. The rulings are part of a suit filed by the church against the county and several law enforcement officers over the raid, during which marijuana, LSD and hallucinogenic mushrooms were seized.
Ambrose also gave county attorney Marie Jones more time to seek dismissal of counts of the church’s suit after she expressed concern the complaint was unclear.