Summary
The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Peter B. Vassar's motion to suppress evidence seized after a vehicle rollover. The court held that an officer properly seized and searched a wooden marijuana “stash box” under the plain-view and probable-cause doctrines. The court also held that probable cause supported a warrantless search of the automobile and its contents under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the officer properly seized the wooden stash box under the plain-view doctrine.
- Whether the officer had probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of the wooden stash box.
- Whether the officer had probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of the automobile's contents.
Holdings
- The warrantless seizure of the wooden box was justified under the plain-view doctrine because the officer was lawfully positioned to view it, its incriminating character was immediately apparent under the probable-cause standard, and the officer had lawful access to it.
- The officer had probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of the wooden stash box because its distinctive configuration essentially proclaimed that it contained contraband, making its contents a foregone conclusion and eliminating a reasonable expectation of privacy in those contents.
- The officer had probable cause under the automobile exception to search the vehicle and any containers or areas capable of concealing marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia, including the luggage and the zippered folder.
Key quotations
“However, probable cause is a flexible, common-sense standard.” (994)
“The scope of a warrantless search of an automobile thus is not defined by the nature of the container in which the contraband is secreted.” (997)
“Probable cause has never been defined quantitatively and the appellant's theory that "smaller is not necessarily bigger" must be rejected.” (998)
Factual background
After Vassar's Jeep Wrangler rolled over on a dry, sunny day, Trooper Guenther observed from a lawful location a wooden box behind the driver's seat bearing an image he recognized as a marijuana leaf. Based on his training and experience, Guenther identified the box as a marijuana stash box, seized it, and found marijuana residue and the odor of marijuana inside. He then searched vehicle luggage and found equipment and materials associated with a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory.
Procedural history
Following a rollover accident, law enforcement seized and searched a wooden box in Vassar's vehicle and searched other vehicle contents, discovering marijuana residue, marijuana odor, and clandestine methamphetamine-laboratory equipment. The district court denied Vassar's suppression motion. Vassar then entered a conditional guilty plea to conspiracy to engage in a clandestine laboratory operation, was sentenced to twenty-two to twenty-eight months' imprisonment and fined $10,000, and appealed the suppression ruling.