My gf and i got pulled over on 4th of july..the trooper said he smelled marijuana and asked to search..?

Mike

With respect to the marijuana charge, I recommend that you interview attorneys and hire an attorney immediately if you have not already done so.

With respect to the search of your girlfriend.

Several years ago a good friend of mine who was a police officer was shot and killed by a suspect that he failed to search for weapons.

My friend always waned to be a nice guy, unfortunately he was a little too nice. This was just a traffic stop and he did not know that the driver was a wanted felon who knew that once my friend completed a search for warrants, he would have discovered this person had outstanding felony warrants and was regarded as dangerous.

My friend still had the driver's license in his hand when he died of seven gunshot wounds from this thug.

This thug who killed my friend is in jail and is still awaiting prosecution.

I expect that thug will be convicted and will receive the death penalty.

That will not do my friend any good however or his wife who lost her husbnad who was the love of her life and it will not do any good for his children who lost their father.

I have no sympathy for you when you complain about a police officer searching you or your girlfriend for weapons. The Police Officer does not know who you are. You and your girlfriend could be dangerous felons with weapons who would kill a Police Officer if given the chance.

You think that the laws against illegal drugs are a joke. That further reduces my sympathy for you.

However on the chance that you were guilty of doing nothing more serious than smoking marijuana I agree that the laws with respect to marijuana are far more harsh than they should be.

I recommend that your hire an attorney to defend yourself against the marijuana charge. I suspect that if this is your first offense there are probebly some alternatives that may be available to you to keep you out of jail. Only an atorney can get those alternatives for you if they are available to you.

I recommend from this point on that you stop thinking that the laws against illegal drugs are a joke and stop using illegal drugs and obey the law.

mattyboymma

What is there to fight? The cop asked to search your vehicle, you said ok, he found a joint. It's a pretty open and shut case. Just plead your case to the judge, if it's your first offense the judge will most likely go easy on you and give you a fine and/or probation.

Lori K

Yes, it's certainly enough to be charged. You could have been charged if he found an opened wine cooler back there. You can use your time and effort however you want. You will probably be found guilty. I, personally, would suggest you get a lawyer who can work on trying to get this arrest expunged in a few years so it doesn't follow you as you try to get jobs.

You are lucky he didn't impound your car. That is usually done with a drug charge.

(Yes, the officer can search your girlfriend for his own safety. He just can't strip search her.)

Why is it that when people get caught doing something they KNOW is illegal, they spend so much time trying to figure how someone else may have made a procedural mistake rather than dwelling on their own crime? Take responsibility for your own behavior. You did the crime, now save the rest of us a few taxpayer dollars and admit it and deal with the consequences.

OMG, the "everyone's doing it argument". My 12 year old used to try that one. No wonder they call it dope.

randy e

Well, the first thing you did wrong, was let the cop search. (NEVER EVER LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN,.) Nuff said there. Once you give your consent, they can look until you say, "stop" so lets say you are stopped, and you have a pound of Mj in the trunk. The cop asked you to search and you consented. When you realize he is going for the trunk, you can say "stop" He has to listen to you. Once he places you under arrest for "suspicion" DONT SAY A WORD< EXCEPT "Lawyer". And yes, the smallest amount can get you arrested, or ticketed. In the search of your friend, if he believes she may have a weapon, he is allowed to look in her purse, and usually just do a light pat down search. He isn't allowed to SQUEEZE body parts. If this happened, you can report it to the internal affairs division of the juristicion. Don't lie about it though, you may have been on tape when he stopped you. You may want to get a lawyer, if nothing more than to get probation, and a lesser fine. Truth is you are guilty, and the facts are the facts. He probably smelled some residue as cars are notorious for keeping the scent. (I used to be able to smell pot through walls.) Oh yea, I used to be a cop. Okay, well good luck and never let them search again.

Lady H

BUSTED

Freedle S

don't smoke or keep pot in your car.

gerryb

If you didn't smoke joints you wouldn't have the problem.

steph m

If you know that u have drugs in ur vehicle why would u agree to a search?

TeacherGrant

Greetings! From what you have told of your story, I would suggest you get yourself a lawyer. It's going to be hard to extricate yourself from it.

Even before 9-11, if a police officer has a reasonable cause to search your vehicle, he or she can without a warrant. The fact he found the joint seals that search.

As for your girlfriend, the police officer definitely can give a preliminary search of anyone he is arresting. He can't strip search on his own, but he definitely has the authority to do a pat-down to assure that she does not have a weapon to pull on him.

Good luck on this. It sounds tough for you two.

Take care.

â™¥ Im just saying..

your dumb to have marijuana in the car on a highly patrolled night!

older

you had the right to say no and you should have.....if he really had a reason he wouldnt have asked permission.---what did he stop your for--he had to have a reason to stop you and if he didnt then that is illegal

John C

As a "patient" here in CA I can tell yah, they DO tax it here in NorCal! Personally I would tap upon the NORML community in your area and get a decent atty. for low $, who likes to represent "green" cases. Use every defense you have. Good luck!

Part of this depends on where. Depending on which state or city, you can have X amount of marijuana legally. As for whether he could search you, as long as there is probable cause, he can and if he finds anything, then that's that.

As for the searching of your girlfriend, that may be what it is. Some cities don't have female officers with no way to work around that.

To the matter of what to do, depending on whose car it was, where the marijuana was found and how severe of a record both of you have will determine the punishment. If it was her car, on her side, and she has 4 drug arrests, then that doesn't look good on her.

Dan H

You gave permission for him to search the car. You always politely say no, sir, I do not give permission for you to search the vehicle.

If the office believes he has probable cause to search your car, you let him, but always politely tell him you are not giving him permission. Then let the lawyers hash it out.

Carmen

I thought you could only be charged if you possessed a certain amount. At least that is true here in Idaho. So check it out where you live.
That is really LAME. BTW you roll some small joints LOL
I would fight it depending on the charge. Appologize, tell them you dont know how it got there (maybe someone just put it out in ur ashtray?) and that you understand the importance of drug laws and would never wish to violate them. It is such a small amount!!
and hey WHAT is the charge? You said class B misdemeanor that doesnt tell me anything

Kymber*

It does not matter how much is found, even if the officer found seeds you could have been arrested and it upheld in a court of law. I worked with people who had some of the 'top' lawyers and tried to get out of it but they still got sent to court mandated treatment.
Also it does not matter if he did not find anything else or even if it was in your system, there is a term called "constructive possession".
He could have had a drug test done and had you arrested for DUI/DWI!!!!! You got off lucky so if you had been using then drove be thankful you did not hurt anyone else or yourself by driving!

Also, NOT everyone does it and until you speak to every single, living breathing person you can't make that claim. I agree with the person that said her 12 year old brother uses the same "everyone is doing it" defense.

It is illegal plain and simple. It is a drug. It is addictive. It has hallucinogenic properties. Research proves the harm on the brain thru CT/MRI scans. Research in Amsterdam has even been done to show that it does in FACT impair driving!!! The reason we hear more about drinking and driving is because of 2 reasons:
1. Breathalizers, once the police get you on a DUI for alcohol there is no reason to do a more expensive drug test for anything else so for those that combine ThC and alcohol and get caught for alcohol the Thc is not reported.
and
2. Most who are using have it (or paraphernalia) in their possession (like you) and a possession charge is easier and more cost efficient, meaning not having to run expensive drug tests.

FYI: Of all the people that I have worked with over the years it is those with marijuana addiction that are the most defensive and have the most difficult time attaining and retaining recovery due to that defensive stance of which you have already shown via the everyone does it statement.
Also most users are self medicating.

Just some food for thought.

John B

Pretty simple, you were in possesion. I had a cop just dump out almost an ounce of weed once. Man, I almost cried. But that was all he did. So it was worth it.

Mike P

I don't use drugs nor have I ever but I don't judge unlike most of the answers here by the "church ladies" those who smoke a joint or not.

My guess is that you probably appeared to look stoned or intoxicated so the police asked for a search. You granted him permission so it's game, set & match on the search issue.

Lucky you have a cool judge in this harsh climate and go with that. Make sure in all appearances in court you wear respectful clothing and don't come in looking like Cheech and Chong by wearing t shirts and jeans. Play the game.

I think the bigger question here is whether we need to have laws that bog down the courts with cases that are pissant drug cases that just take up time for no good reason. Unless you actually were under the influence and of harm to others I see no reason for this case to be in the courts.

Bad Co.

If you let him search he didn't need probable cause. You should have ate it. When you go to court just say you uncle or someone had been driving your car and stay clean until court, in case they test you. Its a misdemeanor and it will probably just be fines. Just remember never carry more than you can eat. Never leave anything in your ashtray, throw it out or burn it all the way up.

bramandu

Next time you have drugs, don't give the police permission to search your car.

you are right, the marijuana law is a joke. regardless it is a law and therefore punishable. the best you can hope for is a sympathetic judge who believes the same. if you are older you are in luck, most judges only seriously punish young people caught will marijuana. depending on what you are worried about, there are a number of options.

if you are worried about your record being cleared- i suggest you speak with the judge and offer to do community outreach against drug use as well as a hefty amount of community service and paid ticket in exchange for a clean record.

if you are worried about affording the ticket- i suggest you work out an exchange for public service for the ticket fine.

if you want to make a statement about the bogus marijuana law through your case- you could take it to court.

i am going to say that i am strongly against you trying to get off of the charge through going after the policeman. number one: police get free legal counsel, so he has every reason to challenge you on the allegation and going to court will cost you a serious amount of money and time and chances are you will lose in the end. number two: this will destroy your attempt to win over the judge through 'admitting and correcting' your mistake.

i suggest you go for clearing your record as that is the most pressing issue at hand.

E. F. Hutton

Possession alone is enough grounds for arrest. You're stuck. Just hope that the charges are not escalated.
I hope you've learned your lesson. Not about the drugs, about your rights. Next time they approach the vehicle put the windows up except for a crack to communicate through, when they ask to search, you say no. If they ask you to get out of the car, do so, and lock the doors. When they ask why you did that say force of habit. They cannot search without your consent or a warrant unless you are already under arrest or some other probable cause before they approach your vehicle. Smelling marijuana is not enough.
Judges are not really nice, ever. Polite perhaps, but not nice.

variable

cosent to search. he's got you.

holden350chev

Marijuana causes brain damaged and gives the user a less quality of life .Instead ask the judge is there a programme that you and your girl friend can attend to quit smoking marijuana.Marijuana is so yesterday and todays for living .When your free of drugs life is easyer .Marijuana leads to other drugs so stop smoking and enjoylife.David

Jeff T

your mistake was allowing the cop to search, especially knowing you had a joint in the car.

Best you could hope for now is a liberal judge.

TCSO

I'll ignore your addtional comments on how marijuana should be legal. That was not the purpose of your question and the law is what it is currently so it's not a factor as of now.

A male officer can indeed search a female. There are general policy restrictions (NOT legal restrictions) in exactly how the search is done and, ideally, a female should be used when available and appropriate. A simple pat-down search does not necessitate a special call for a female. Furthermore, a male officer can search a female more thoroughly, especially after an arrest, if there is no female available. However, I would not advise the officer to go searching the bra cups, panties, digging deep into the rear pockets, etc., unless he truly has good reason to believe a weapon is there.

He can arrest both of you for the marijuana. If he can articulate that it was in the possession of both of you, then he can arrest both of you.

Future Mrs.Nick Jonas

well you are stupid for thinking that marijuana should be legal. I just finished writing my D.A.R.E. essay and boy oh boy should it so not be illegal. Did u use marijuana?And no not EVERYONE does it just stupid people that want to ruin there lifes and people that think its "cool" Also u should ALWAYS follow the law and NOT SPEED!!!!!!!!!!!

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