Robey v. Superior Court

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After police seized a package from FedEx and discovered marijuana inside, Petitioner, who went to FedEx to claim the package, was arrested with possession of marijuana for sale and with the sale or transportation of marijuana. The superior court denied Petitioner's motion to suppress evidence, concluding that exigent circumstances justified the seizure, and the subsequent search was valid under the inevitable discovery doctrine. The court of appeal granted Petitioner's petition for writ of mandate and ordered the superior court to grant the motion to suppress, holding that the inevitable discovery doctrine did not apply to the facts in this case, that exigent circumstances did not justify the subsequent search of the container, and that the odor of contraband alone cannot justify a warrantless search. The Supreme Court affirmed in part, holding (1) a container's mobility may constitute exigent circumstances sufficient to justify a warrantless seizure, but it cannot alone justify a search of the container once it has been seized; and (2) the District Attorney forfeited his argument that the plain smell of marijuana constituted an exception to the warrant requirement. View "Robey v. Superior Court" on Justia Law