Can Weed Odor Justify a Vehicle Search?
An officer conducts a traffic stop in Texas with multiple occupants in the vehicle. During the stop, the officer detects the odor of marijuana coming from inside the car. Marijuana remains illegal under Texas law. Based on the odor, officers decide to search the vehicle. Without asking for consent and without deciding to make an […]
Stop and Frisk on Traffic Stop
Officers lawfully stop a vehicle. While the primary officer is contacting the driver, a cover officer makes contact with the passenger. The passenger is asked whether she has any weapons. She discloses that she has a knife inside her purse and voluntarily hands the knife to the officer. The officer has the passenger step out […]
Case Law on Standing
An officer encounters a group of people standing around a backpack late at night. The encounter is consensual. The officer asks whose backpack it is. Each person denies ownership. No one claims any connection to the bag. The officer opens the backpack and finds firearms, narcotics, and identification belonging to one of the individuals. That […]
Purses, Bags and Backpacks
This question is: Can you look inside a woman’s purse, or a man’s backpack during a pat down? The answer is, “Maybe.” Here’s how this works. We know that patdowns are an overall minimally intrusive way to protect yourself from weapons and blunt objects during a Terry stop. And, if you have reason to believe […]
Single Purpose Container Doctrine
Today’s question is from an officer in Indiana; Would the single purpose container doctrine allow cops to search a vehicle’s hidden compartment? The first thing we want to learn is: What is a single purpose container? The single purpose container doctrine basically says that some containers, due to their shape, weight, size, material and the […]