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S.D.Ga.: Odor of marijuana was not contradicted and was PC

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

“[O]nce Deputy Perkins smelled the odor of marijuana coming from Defendant's car, he had probable cause to search the car, regardless of whether Defendant chose to withhold his consent to search. Although defense counsel tried to challenge the information in Deputy Perkins's report, the fact remains that Defendant did not provide an affidavit or any other evidence to dispute that Deputy Perkins detected an odor of marijuana emanating from Defendant's car. Not only is there nothing to contradict Deputy Perkins's report, the fact remains that 21 grams of marijuana were discovered in Defendant's car.” United States v. Johnson, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114241 (S.D. Ga. July 30, 2008).* The officer had reasonable suspicion to believe that the defendant was driving a car with a license plate that was not properly secured in violation of Kansas law, and that supported the stop...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 27, 2010 (boomark / email).