Case Spotlight
People v. Armstrong
In People v. Armstrong, ___ Mich. App. ___ (2022) (MCOA No. 360693) officers smelled burnt marijuana coming from a vehicle parked on a street and approached to talk to the occupants. Defendant was the front passenger. Based on the smell of burnt marijuana, the officers searched the vehicle and recovered a handgun under defendant’s seat. He was charged with carrying concealed weapon, felon in possession, and felony firearm. In a motion to suppress, defendant argued that the smell of burnt marijuana alone was no longer enough for probable cause to search a vehicle pursuant to the motor vehicle exception to the search warrant requirement.
The Michigan Court of Appeals (COA) agreed and held that People v. Kazmierczak, 461 Mich. 411 (2000), is no longer good case law now that recreational use of marijuana is legal in Michigan. The COA stated, “Passage of the MRTMA decriminalized possession and use of marijuana in Michigan. We conclude that this action changed the law concerning possession and use of marijuana, superseding otherwise-binding decisions that the smell of marijuana, without more, provides probable cause to search for marijuana.” The COA ruled that the odor of burnt marijuana must now be combined with other factors that would provide probable cause of marijuana being used illegally in the vehicle.
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