Opinion ID: 557401
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: admission of drugs into evidence

Text: 5 Defendant asserts that the district court erred in introducing into evidence the drugs found by the policeman because the drugs were the product of an illegal search. Because we find the policeman had sufficient probable cause to search the entire automobile for drugs, no warrant was needed for the search of defendant's suitcases in which the drugs were found. 6 The moving vehicle exception to the warrant rule is well-established. See, e.g., United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 825, 102 S.Ct. 2157, 2173, 72 L.Ed.2d 572 (1982); Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 51, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 1981, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970); Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 158-59, 45 S.Ct. 280, 287, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925). If probable cause justifies a search of a vehicle which has been lawfully stopped, then that probable cause extends to justify the search of every part of the vehicle and all containers found therein in which contraband could be hidden. Ross, 456 U.S. at 824, 102 S.Ct. at 2172. The nature of the containers found inside a vehicle does not define the scope of the search. Id. at 824, 102 S.Ct. at 2172. The Court has stated that the contents of a paper bag are protected to the same extent as those of a suitcase or attache. Id. at 822, 102 S.Ct. at 2171. Instead, a search conducted pursuant to this exception is limited by the nature of the contraband: only containers which could contain the contraband may be searched. 7 All defendant's challenges to the admission of the evidence must fail. As discussed in Section II, the police officer validly stopped the vehicle in which defendant was travelling for speeding. Furthermore, the policeman had sufficient probable cause to search the vehicle and its containers for contraband. Upon first approaching defendant in the back seat of the car, the officer detected the faint smell of burning marijuana. The officer then asked Ms. Riley, who was in possession of the car which belonged to her husband, for consent to search the car, including containers and the trunk. After obtaining her valid consent, the officer looked through the passenger compartment of the car. In an overnight bag, he found two partially smoked marijuana cigarettes. Thereafter, he opened the trunk and smelled the strong scent of raw marijuana. These discoveries, in addition to the conflicting, and somewhat suspicious, stories told to the officer by the occupants of the car regarding their relationship to each other and the purpose of their trip, gave the officer sufficient probable cause to search the entire vehicle and its contents for drugs. See, e.g., United States v. Burnett, 791 F.2d 64, 67 (6th Cir.1986). 8 Although defendant did not directly address the issue in his briefs on appeal, we note that the holdings of United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1977) and Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979) do not govern the case at bar. In Chadwick and Sanders, the Court held the moving vehicle exception to the warrant rule did not apply to a locked trunk and suitcase, respectively, taken out of an automobile. In both cases, the Court suppressed the evidence seized because no warrant had been obtained. However, the containers seized in both those cases were under surveillance by law enforcement personnel prior to being placed in the automobile; probable cause existed to search the containers independent of the vehicle in which they were placed. The Court in Ross distinguished the facts of that case from the facts in Chadwick and Sanders on the basis that the police had probable cause to search the entire vehicle in Ross whereas, in the other two cases, probable cause extended only to the containers which contained contraband and not to the entire vehicle itself. Ross, 456 U.S. at 814, 102 S.Ct. at 2167 (emphasis added). The facts in the case at bar more closely parallel those of Ross than those of Chadwick and Sanders, in that the police officer had probable cause to search the entire vehicle, not just the specific bags that contained the marijuana. At no time did there exist independent probable cause to search the suitcases themselves. Cf. California v. Acevedo, 216 Cal.App.3d 586, 265 Cal.Rptr. 23 (Cal.Ct.App.1989), cert. granted, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 39, 112 L.Ed.2d 15 (1990); for a discussion of the arguments made before the Court in Acevedo, see 59 U.S.L.W. 3493, 3493-95 (U.S. Jan. 21, 1991) (No. 89-1690). Accordingly, we find the warrantless search was justified.