Summary: Komorn Law has won another case in Circuit Court. The Judge suppressed the 26 pounds of marijuana of evidence seized following a traffic stop and then lead to the dismissal of the case. The police conducted an unlawful inventory search, contrary to the police department’s established procedures.
Michael A. Komorn and Alyssa L. McCormick won suppression of evidence in the 56A Judicial District Court on an inventory search / People v. Toohey (438 Mich. 265; 475 N.W. 2d 16 (1991)) issue.
Circuit Court Opinion of the Month: Unlawful Inventory Search The Honorable Julie A. O’Neill, of the 56A Judicial District Court, in May suppressed evidence seized following a traffic stop and then dismissed the case.
Judge O’Neill found that police conducted an unlawful inventory search, contrary to the police department’s established procedures, and, pursuant to People v. Toohey, 438 Mich. 265; 475 N.W.2d 16 (1991), the improperly seized evidence had to be suppressed.
Once the evidence was suppressed, there was no evidence to support bindover to circuit court, so the case was dismissed. The defendant was stopped by Potterville Police Chief Barry for speeding and improper use of a turn signal. The defendant did not have on his person his driver’s license, but subsequent investigation revealed that the defendant was properly licensed and had no outstanding warrants.
Chief Barry, upon approaching the pickup truck, saw a black plastic trash bag on the passenger seat; the Chief, who later testified he could smell marijuana, asked the driver multiple times about the contents of the bag; the defendant replied that it was trash.
The defendant also replied that he had some marijuana wax in his possession. Backup arrived, and the defendant was told to exit the vehicle; he complied and then locked it. He consented to a search of his person but declined a request by police to search the truck.
The driver was handcuffed and placed into the Chief’s vehicle. Officers looked through the windows of the pickup and noticed another plastic trash bag in the behind the seats, as well as a smaller plastic bag with a leafy, green substance visible.
The Chief called a prosecutor, who advised that an arrest could be made for the misdemeanor of not having a license in his possession. The driver was arrested. Later, 6 Criminal Defense Newsletter June 2021 during a search of the pickup truck, just over 26 pounds of marijuana was found.
The defendant challenged the arrest as illegal because, he argued, he constructively possessed his license. His wife was able to text a photo of the license, which Chief Barry was able to observe.
Judge O’Neill rejected that argument and held that the statute, M.C.L. 257.311, expressly requires a driver to have an operator’s license “in his or her immediate possession at all times.”
The defendant also challenged the inventory search as illegal, and Judge O’Neill, as noted above, agreed. The Toohey case requires that inventory searches be conducted “in accordance with established departmental procedures … and must Reports and Studies not be used as a pretext for criminal investigation.”
Judge O’Neill rejected the prosecution arguments, which included that police had probable cause to search due to either plain-view or the automobile exception.
The defendant was represented by Michael A. Komorn; the opinion in People v. Michael Anthony Gonzalez, 56A Judicial District Court No. 20-111-FY.
