Police officers inspecting automobiles for drugs must have probable cause to search specific parts of each vehicle, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a U.S. District Court in Utah erred in denying a motion by Douglas Merrill Nielsen to suppress evidence. The appeals court reversed the lower court's decision and sent it back to district court for further action.Nielsen was stopped on April 22, 1992, for a speeding violation near Nephi. A police officer testified at trial that he smelled marijuana in Nielsen's car after stopping him.
After Nielsen gave his permission, the officer searched the inside of his car. The officer didn't find any marijuana in the car and insisted on searching the trunk of Nielsen's car.
The search turned up a set of scales and approximately two kilograms of cocaine. A radio check showed that Nielsen had been arrested for a misdemeanor marijuana offense in 1977.
The officer arrested Nielsen and seized the cocaine but found no marijuana in the car.
The court said the officer didn't have probable cause to search Nielsen's trunk and ruled that the lower court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence.