JOHN P. FLYNN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Florida appellate court affirmed conviction for cannabis possession, holding that no additional consent was required for the search at the inspection station after the initial roadside search revealed suspicious items.
No additional consent was necessary to search the truck and black plastic bag at the inspection station after the initial roadside search revealed marijuana odor and a suspicious container.
[1] Placing items in a black plastic garbage bag does not manifest a reasonable expectation of privacy, and therefore such items may be searched without additional consent af…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Placing items in a black plastic garbage bag fails to manifest an expectation of privacy.”
Court's reasoning regarding why the search did not violate Fourth Amendment protections.
Flynn was stopped at an agricultural inspection station on the highway where an inspector smelled marijuana and observed a black plastic garbage bag. …
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MILLS, Chief Judge.
Flynn appeals his judgment of conviction of possession of more than five grams of cannabis entered pursuant to a plea of nolo contendere, reserving the right to appeal a denial of his motion to suppress. He alleges consent was necessary to validate the search at the inspection station by the deputy sheriffs. We disagree.
Flynn unquestionably consented to the initial search of the truck on the highway at which time the agricultural inspector smelled the strong odor of marijuana and observed a black plastic garbage bag which was known by the inspector to often contain contraband. The inspector properly ordered Flynn back to the agricultural inspection station and arrested him for bypassing the station. § 570.15, Fla.Stat. (1977). The inspector properly called the Sheriff’s Department and opened the truck and black plastic bag when the officers arrived. No further consent was necessary. Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970). Placing items in a black plastic garbage bag fails to manifest an expectation of privacy. Evans v. State, 368 So. 2d 58 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). Compare, Arkansas v. Sanders, - U.S. -, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979).
AFFIRMED.
MILLS, C. J., and ROBERT P. SMITH, Jr. and SHIVERS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42 (U.S. 1970)
- Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753 (U.S. 1979)
- Evans v. State, 368 So. 2d 58 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979)