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WA: Cheech & Chong now constitutionally protected in Washington State

From the Olympian:Court: Can't arrest all in car based on drug smellThe scent of marijuana wafting from a car isn't enough reason for police to arrest everyone inside, but officers can still follow their noses to search a vehicle, Washington's Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The unanimous decision overturns a nearly 30-year-old legal precedent in Washington and again recognizes the state constitution's robust privacy protections, which in some cases are stronger than federal privacy rights.Officers still may search a car based solely on the smell of drugs, the court said, and justices indicated that a drug smell might be stronger evidence supporting arrest if there were only one person in a vehicle. But when it comes to multiple people in a car, the scent of pot alone isn't a cloud of probable cause that subjects everyone in the car to arrest, because police must have stronger evidence that an individual may have broken the law...continue to full post

Full post as published by Arbitrary and Capricious on July 18, 2008 (boomark / email).