Opinion ID: 166424
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Validity of the Search

Text: 36 Under the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement, police officers who have probable cause to believe there is contraband inside an automobile that has been stopped on the road may search it without obtaining a warrant. Florida v. Meyers, 466 U.S. 380, 381, 104 S.Ct. 1852, 80 L.Ed.2d 381 (1984) (per curiam); see United States v. Oliver, 363 F.3d 1061, 1068 (10th Cir.2004). Probable cause to search a vehicle is established if, under the totality of the circumstances, there is a fair probability that the car contains contraband or evidence. United States v. Downs, 151 F.3d 1301, 1303 (10th Cir.1998) (internal quotation marks and emphasis omitted). 37 Less than a minute after Trooper Peech told Ms. Bradford he would be detaining her until drug-sniffing dogs could arrive, she went over to his patrol car and admitted to him that she had a marijuana pipe and small bag of marijuana in the car. See Bradford, 290 F.Supp.2d at 1271. A reasonable officer would think that a suspect might confess to a small amount of drugs in order to avoid an investigation which would reveal a much larger amount of drugs. Coupled with her nervousness and evasiveness, we conclude the totality of circumstances facing Trooper Peech gave rise to probable cause there would be contraband in the trunk. 38 Ms. Bradford argues the marijuana from the passenger compartment of the car did not justify Trooper Peech searching the trunk. We have rejected this argument before, on lesser evidence of contraband than existed here. Generally, suspects do not hand their drugs over to officers as Ms. Bradford did here, so officers need to rely on the smell of drugs or drug-sniffing dogs to establish the existence of drugs in the passenger compartment of a car. See United States v. Rosborough, 366 F.3d 1145, 1152-53 (10th Cir.2004) (holding a canine alert toward the passenger area of a vehicle gives rise to probable cause to search the trunk as well); United States v. Nielsen, 9 F.3d 1487, 1491 (10th Cir.1993) (concluding that the smell of burnt marijuana from the passenger compartment justified a search of the passenger compartment). 39 The odor of burnt marijuana in the passenger compartment of a vehicle does not, standing alone, establish probable cause to search the trunk of the vehicle. Nielsen, 9 F.3d at 1491. Rather, an officer obtains probable cause to search the trunk of a vehicle if he smells marijuana in the passenger compartment and finds corroborating evidence of contraband. See United States v. Loucks, 806 F.2d 208, 210-11 (10th Cir.1986) (finding an officer had probable cause to search the trunk of the defendant's car when he smelled and found marijuana in the passenger compartment of the car); United States v. Parker, 72 F.3d 1444, 1450 (10th Cir.1995) (ruling probable cause to search the trunk of a defendant's car was established when an officer smelled burning marijuana in the car and discovered contraband on the defendant's person). Once probable cause to search is established, the officer may search the entire vehicle, including the trunk and all containers therein that might contain contraband. United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 825, 102 S.Ct. 2157, 72 L.Ed.2d 572 (1982); Loucks, 806 F.2d at 210-11. 40 Here, it was clear there was marijuana in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, so there was no need for the corroboration of the smell of marijuana or for a drug-sniffing dog. When Ms. Bradford gave Trooper Peech the bag of marijuana and pipe from the car, the actual existence of drugs was proven and no further corroboration was necessary. At that point, Trooper Peech had probable cause to search anywhere else in the car that contraband might be present, including the trunk. This is particularly true given Ms. Bradford's attempt to circumvent a K-9 inspection by confessing to the marijuana. Were we to conclude otherwise, we would create an perverse incentive for drug smugglers carrying large amounts of contraband to confess to small amounts of marijuana to avoid further inspection. Probable cause existed here.