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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Probable Cause

Police officers who smelled marijuana smoke coming from within a house and subsequently saw a smoldering marijuana cigarette lying in a trash can in the house had probable cause to believe that a crime was being committed and a search warrant was appropriately authorized the search of the entire house for evidence of such a crime, the Fourth Circuit ruled. 

RICHMOND, Va. – Police officers who smelled marijuana smoke coming from within a house and subsequently saw a smoldering marijuana cigarette lying in a trash can in the house had probable cause to believe that a crime was being committed and a search warrant was appropriately authorized the search of the entire house for evidence of such a crime, the Fourth Circuit ruled

The court found the defendant’s argument – that the warrant should be limited in scope because the joint was the likely source of the odor – to be unpersuasive.

Categories / Appeals, Criminal

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