US v. Carson: The manager of an apartment complex reported to Asheville police that a “group of young men” had been selling drugs in the parking lot. Officers conducted surveillance and “observed activity that was consistent with the property manager’s report” centered around a particular vehicle driven by Washington (who didn’t have a valid driver’s license). Weeks later, officers began following the vehicle (as Washington was driving), which “picked up speed and began driving in a more aggressive manner,” which led to a traffic stop. Carson was a passenger who was eventually ordered out of the car and frisked, uncovering a firearm. He was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and, after a motion to suppress was denied, entered a conditional guilty plea and was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of Carson’s motion to suppress. Carson’s argument was that the officers conducting the traffic stop had unlawfully extended it under Rodriguez, turning it into criminal drug investigation without reasonable suspicion. However, the court relied on the finding of the district court that one of the officers smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle early in the stop and that nothing that could be construed as beyond the scope of a routine stop had occurred at that point. As a result, officers had the probable cause necessary to extend the stop.
Judge Berner concurred in the result, questioning whether the presumption flowing from an officer smelling marijuana (which is theoretically rebuttable) should be reexamined in light of the current legal status of marijuana.
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