Law Enforcements often reliable ace in the hole for probable cause: “I Smelled Raw or Burnt Marijuana in the Vehicle”, appears to be no longer sufficient for probable cause and in one case the court suppressed forty pounds of weed.
In State v. Ender Pompa, 414 N.J. Super. 219 (App. Div. 2010), the New Jersey Appellate Division gave solace to criminal defense attorneys in New Jersey attempting to defend the “plain smell” marijuana cases, in which the police officer after conducting an illegal search and discovering marijuana in a motor vehicle later claim that the reason for the search was that the officer had smelled raw or burnt marijuana in the vehicle during the motor vehicle stop.
In these types of cases, and the subsequent motion to suppress evidence it was virtually impossible to cross examine the officer to disprove whether he or she did in fact smell anything, and present any evidence that the cop was fabricating a justification for the illegal search.
However, in the Pompa case, the Appellate Division gave a remarkably good weapon in the arsenal of defense attorneys when it held that the “plain smell” of raw marijuana in the sleeping compartment of a tractor was insufficient to allow the New Jersey State Trooper to search that compartment, and that a search warrant was necessary before a search could be done.
This case is of tremendous importance because now it will be more difficult for police officers to fabricate an excuse to search an automobile without a search warrant, and should finally close this loophole for police officers whom routinely disregard the defendant’s Constitutional rights and the Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful and unreasonable searches.
For more information regarding your rights in a criminal case and defending the serious drug and narcotics case in New Jersey criminal courts, consult the Law Office of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr., at CriminalDefenseNJ.com
Law Office of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr.
P.O. Box 261
277 North Broad Street
Elizabeth, N.J. 07207
YourCivilRights@gmail.com
Tel: (908) 354-7006
Cell: (201) 240-5716
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