Search Incident to Arrest, Todd Levitt, CMU Student Lawyer, December 7th 2011

Search Incident to arrest< Police may search a vehicle incident to a recent occupant's arrest only if the arrestee is within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search or it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest. When these justifications are absent, a search of an arrestee's vehicle will be unreasonable unless police obtain a warrant or show that another exception to the warrant requirement applies. Arizona v. Gant,___US___,129 S Ct 1710 (2009) MICHIGAN LAW recognizes that "the smell of marijuana alone by a person qualified to know the odor may establish probable cause to search a motor vehicle, pursuant to the motor vehicle exception to the warrant requirement. This includes the smell of burned, unburned and burning marijuana. Therefore, the officer who pulls a motorist over for a routine traffic stop and smells what he or she believes to be the odor of marijuana will be justified in searching the entire vehicle. The hard part is trying to disprove an officer's claim that he or she smelled marijuana. Mount Pleasant Michigan Lawyer, Todd Levitt has represented CMU students for more than 17 years. Todd Levitt handles all drug cases from Possession of Marijuana, Maintaining a Drug House, Delivery and Manufacturer, MIP's, Drunk Driving, Driving with a Suspended License, Drivers License Restoration, all misdemeanor and felonies. Todd Levitt, can be reached at 989-772-6000