RHETT MILES TAYLOR, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Taylor appeals his marijuana possession conviction based on a nolo contendere plea, challenging the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence. The court reverses, finding the officers' warrantless entry into his home was unreasonable and that the seized evidence was the unlawful fruit of that entry.
The court reversed the conviction, holding that the warrantless incursion into Taylor's home was unreasonable and the seized evidence should have been suppressed as the fruit of an unlawful entry.
[1] A warrantless incursion into a citizen's home is subject to critical examination and requires a judicial warrant, exigency, or other exceptional circumstances to be lawfu…
[2] The smell of marijuana dissipating upon opening a door does not, by itself, establish probable cause to believe marijuana is being consumed inside the residence.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Absent a judicial warrant, exigency or other exceptional circumstances, the Fourth Amendment protects and makes effective a citizen's "reasonable expectation of privacy." A warrantless incursion into a citizen's home is therefore subject to our most critical examination”
Establishes the heightened constitutional protection for warrantless entries into the home
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTwo police officers went to Taylor's residence seeking information about a stolen vehicle. As they approached, they smelled marijuana smoke, but the s…
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COBB, Judge.
This appeal is from a conviction for possession of marijuana based on a nolo con-tendere plea with reservation of right to appeal the trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion to suppress evidence. We reverse.
Two police officers went to Appellant’s residence seeking information concerning a stolen vehicle. Both officers smelled marijuana smoke as they approached the door. The officers knocked, Appellant opened the door, and the smell dissipated. One officer noticed four hand-rolled cigarettes sitting on a box inside the house. When another occupant picked up the cigarettes, the officer entered the residence and took the cigarettes from her. With the officer’s permission, the cigarettes were rinsed down a sink prior to an examination to determine their contents. The officers did not notice an odor of marijuana inside the house, nor did a brief survey of other rooms reveal any sign of contraband. The officers continued to question Appellant for 15 to 20 minutes concerning the vehicle investigation. Appellant was arrested after an officer observed a bag of suspected marijuana fall to the kitchen floor when Appellant took his hand out of his pocket.
The reasonableness of the seizure of the bag of marijuana depends upon the validity of the incursion into Appellant’s home. See State v. Hughes, 375 So. 2d 615, 617 (Fla.3d DCA 1979). In Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 758, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 2590, 61 L.Ed.2d 235, 241 (1979), the United States Supreme Court recently restated that the Fourth Amendment has been interpreted
to include the requirement that normally searches of private property be performed pursuant to a search warrant issued in compliance with the warrant clause. As our sister court stated in Britton v. State, 336 So. 2d 663, 664 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976):
Absent a judicial warrant, exigency or other exceptional circumstances, the Fourth Amendment protects and makes effective a citizen’s “reasonable expectation of privacy.” A warrantless incursion into a citizen’s home is therefore subject to our most critical examination, (footnote omitted.)
The officers’ warrantless incursion into Taylor’s residence was predicated entirely on the sight of four hand-rolled cigarettes. The smell of marijuana had dissipated and could not support probable cause to believe marijuana was being consumed within. The sight of the cigarettes alone did not justify a warrantless entry. See Carr v. State, 353 So. 2d 958 (Fla.2d DCA 1978). The lack of exigent or other exceptional circumstances rendered the warrant-less incursion unreasonable. The seizure was the fruit of an unlawful entry, and the evidence taken should have been suppressed. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963); Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081 (1961).
REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR DISCHARGE OF THE APPELLANT.
DAUKSCH, C. J., and SHARP, J., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Alvarez v. State, 573 So. 2d 400 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)…of the officers saw some sort of metal object which could not be identified was insufficient to justify a warrantless entry. See Hornblower v. State, 351 So. 2d 716 (Fla.1977); McGibiany v. State, 399 So. 2d 125 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); Taylor v. State, 381 So. 2d 255 (Fla. 5th DCA), cert. denied, 386 So. 2d 642 (Fla.1980). The lack of exigent or other exceptional circumstances rendered the warrant-less intrusion unreasonable. Hornblower, 351 So. 2d at 718. Because the cocaine was the fruit of an unlawful entry,…
Authorities Cited
- Wong SUN v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 (U.S. 1963)
- Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (U.S. 1961)
- Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753 (U.S. 1979)
- Carr v. State, 353 So. 2d 958 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)
- Britton v. State, 336 So. 2d 663 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)
- State v. Hughes, 375 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)