Summary
This Illinois Supreme Court opinion addresses whether the odor of raw cannabis emanating from a vehicle provides probable cause for a warrantless search under the Fourth Amendment and Illinois Constitution. The court analyzes the evolution of Illinois cannabis laws, specifically harmonizing the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act with the Vehicle Code’s requirement that cannabis be stored in an odor-proof container while in a motor vehicle. Concluding that the odor of raw cannabis indicates a violation of the storage requirement, the court holds that such an odor alone establishes probable cause to search the vehicle. The judgment of the appellate court is affirmed.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the odor of raw cannabis coming from a vehicle traveling on an Illinois highway, standing alone, gives a trained and experienced police officer probable cause to conduct a warrantless automobile search.
- Whether the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act and the Illinois Vehicle Code can be harmonized so that the Vehicle Code's odor-proof-container requirement remained valid at the time of the search.
Holdings
- The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act and the Vehicle Code can be harmonized, and the Vehicle Code requirement that cannabis transported in a motor vehicle on a highway be stored in a sealed, odor-proof, child-resistant container remained valid.
- The odor of raw cannabis coming from a vehicle operated on an Illinois highway, standing alone, is sufficient to provide a trained and experienced police officer with probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of the vehicle.
Key quotations
“In sum, we hold that the odor of raw cannabis coming from a vehicle being operated on an Illinois highway, alone, is sufficient to provide police officers, who are trained and experienced in distinguishing between burnt and raw cannabis, with probable cause to perform a warrantless search of a vehicle.” (¶ 61)
“The odor of raw cannabis strongly suggests that the cannabis is not being possessed within the parameters of Illinois law.” (¶ 55)
“A court must examine the events leading up to the search or seizure, and then decide whether these historical facts, viewed from the standpoint of an objectively reasonable law enforcement officer, amount to probable cause.” (¶ 22)
Factual background
A state trooper stopped a vehicle on Interstate 88 in Whiteside County for speeding. After approaching the passenger side, he detected a strong odor of raw cannabis and, based on his training and experience distinguishing raw from burnt cannabis, searched the vehicle without a warrant. The search revealed several cannabis joints in a cardboard box and suspected cannabis in a sealed clear plastic container; Molina, a passenger, was charged with possessing cannabis in a motor vehicle outside a sealed, odor-proof, child-resistant container.
Procedural history
After an Illinois State Police trooper stopped a vehicle for speeding and searched it based solely on the odor of raw cannabis, cannabis was found in the vehicle and Molina was charged with violating the Vehicle Code. The Whiteside County circuit court suppressed the evidence, holding that the odor of raw cannabis alone did not establish probable cause. The appellate court reversed and remanded for trial, and the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court's judgment.
Remand instructions
The appellate court's reversal of the circuit court's suppression order was affirmed, and the cause was remanded for trial.