Arizona v. Gant, 129 S.Ct. 1710, (2009); Vehicle Searches after Arrest
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Consider the following hypothetical. Two patrol officers with the Houston Police Department were following a Cadillac in an area known for gang and drug activity. Loud music was coming from the vehicle as it swerved several times from lane to lane. The officers decided to stop the vehicle for failure to maintain a single lane of traffic. In Texas, a law enforcement officer may lawfully stop a person for a traffic law violation. 1/
Once such a lawful investigative stop has been made, the law enforcement officer may temporarily detain a motorist if the officer has reasonable suspicion based upon clear facts which, when combined with reasonable inferences from those facts, permits the officer to conclude that a person detained is, has been, or soon will be engaged in criminal activity. 2/
The two officers that stopped the Cadillac approached the vehicle from different sides. One officer stopped at the driver’s side window while the other stopped at the rear passenger side of the vehicle. Both officers smelled a strong odor of marijuana and the officer at the driver’s side spotted an open bottle of tequila on the seat next to the driver.
At that point the officers had probable cause to arrest the driver for an open container violation. But they did not do so. Instead they instructed the driver to exit the vehicle. While the driver had not been arrested at this juncture, the two officers made a decision to search the vehicle based on the smell of marijuana. (more…)
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