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I Smell Marijuana!

By Brian Tannebaum, Esq.

Ah, the smell of marijuana! (Criminal defense lawyers are already laughing at this post, some prosecutors too.)The smell of marijuana opens many doors to the life of law enforcement. Smell marijuana and open comes doors of homes, stopped are countless vehicles that "smell" of that prohibited substance, and searched are "persons" who upon them have that "smell."So today went my motion to suppress a traffic stop. Arrest affidavit was pretty simple - my hero is observed with what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette in hand, is seen "inhaling" from it, and then his car is stopped. After the stop, officer smells marijuana and arrests my client, seizing the additional marijuana in the car.Problem is that's not proper under the Fourth Amendment and applicable case law...continue to full post

Full post as published by Criminal Defense on August 25, 2008 (boomark / email).