Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (April 16, 2024)

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on April 16, 2024. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to the present. Odor of marijuana plus a cover scent provided adequate probable cause to search vehicle. State v. Dobson, COA23-568, ___ N.C. App. ___ (April 16, 2024). In this Guilford County case, defendant appealed after his guilty pleas to possession of a firearm by a felon and carrying a concealed firearm, arguing error in denying his motion to suppress because the smell of marijuana could not support probable cause. The Court of Appeals disagreed, finding no error. In January of 2021, Greensboro police received a report that a handgun was in plain view inside a parked car. Police officers observed a group of people getting into the car, and eventually pulled the car over for going 55 mph in a 45-mph zone. When the officers approached the vehicle, they smelled what they believed was marijuana, along with a strong cologne scent. Officers asked the driver about the smell of marijuana, and she explained that they were recently at a club where people were smoking outside. After that answer, officers conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle for narcotics. During the search, officers noticed what appeared to be marijuana next to where defendant was sitting, and conducted a Terry frisk of defendant, discovering a firearm in his waistband. Before trial, defendant [...]