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Kansas Supreme Court decision in marijuana case hinges on Lawrence officers’ sense of smell
The Topeka Capital Journal ^ | 11 December 2018 | Tim Carpenter

Posted on 12/12/2018 4:44:58 PM PST by KC_Lion

A divided Kansas Supreme Court affirmed Lawrence Hubbard’s misdemeanor convictions in a case demonstrating police officers relying exclusively on olfactory skills to detect raw marijuana can supply probable cause to support search of a residence.

The decision by the high court extended to a private residence the accepted principle in Kansas that a trained and experienced officer’s detection of the aroma of marijuana could justify the legal search of a vehicle. The ruling also resolved conflicting Kansas Court of Appeals decisions.

Supreme Court justices, on a 4-3 vote, rejected arguments put forth by Hubbard’s attorney, including questions about whether Lawrence Police Officer Kimberly Nicholson and one of her peers had to be an expert in pot odor to testify about justification for search of the apartment. Hubbard also challenged whether Nicholson was capable of detecting the “strong odor of raw marijuana emanating from the apartment” while standing outside the building’s front door.

Justice Dan Biles, who wrote the majority opinion released Friday sustaining the Court of Appeals’ decision in 2016 upholding the convictions, said officers didn’t have to perform a sophisticated sensory task to proceed with reasonable action intended to prevent possible destruction of evidence.

(Excerpt) Read more at cjonline.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; US: Kansas
KEYWORDS: cannabis; fourthamendment; kansas; marijuana; pot; warrants; wod
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1 posted on 12/12/2018 4:44:58 PM PST by KC_Lion
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To: TheStickman; dainbramaged; beaversmom; T-Bone Texan; dljordan; Mama Shawna; NobleFree; Drew68; ...

For your interest.


2 posted on 12/12/2018 4:45:24 PM PST by KC_Lion (If you want on First Lady Melania's, Ivanka Trump's or Sarah Palin's Ping Lists, just let me know.)
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To: KC_Lion

I don’t use the stuff, but it does have a distinctive stink.


3 posted on 12/12/2018 4:47:57 PM PST by colorado tanker
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To: colorado tanker
I don’t use the stuff, but it does have a distinctive stink.

Home beer making can produce the same odor.

Hops is closely related to weed.

4 posted on 12/12/2018 4:50:48 PM PST by Snickering Hound
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To: KC_Lion

The problem with this decision is that it will be used to justify every illegal search done in Kansas from now until the practice is ended either by statute or the USSC.


5 posted on 12/12/2018 5:02:47 PM PST by Valpal1
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To: Snickering Hound

Yes you are quite right. I had not thought of that but in its raw form the smell is similar. In that case the police should have to prove that they can distinguish it from other smells. Interesting!


6 posted on 12/12/2018 5:06:36 PM PST by melsec (There's a track, winding back, to an old forgotten shack along the road to Gundagai..)
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To: Valpal1
The problem with this decision is that it will be used to justify every illegal search done in Kansas from now until the practice is ended either by statute or the USSC.

What's more is that smoke travels. Your neighbor two doors down could be smoking it up, but the cloud travels your way. The cops can simply say they smelled marijuana, and then have the right to search any damn house on the block.
7 posted on 12/12/2018 5:08:51 PM PST by fr_freak
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From the article:

A detailed search of the house after securing a warrant didn’t reveal a pile of pot on a dining room table or stacked in a secret room. The only significant amount of unsmoked marijuana was 25 grams stored in a closed Tupperware container locked inside a safe located in Hubbard’s bedroom closet. A small amount of weed was detected on a partially burnt cigarillo in the living room.

8 posted on 12/12/2018 5:09:32 PM PST by Valpal1
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To: Snickering Hound
Interesting.

Kinda doubt the perp was making beer in his car, though. :-))

9 posted on 12/12/2018 5:09:39 PM PST by colorado tanker
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To: Snickering Hound

Grafting hops onto a pot plant yields a THC laden leafy substance.
Don’t know how it tastes, read about it in High Times back in high school, lol.


10 posted on 12/12/2018 5:22:07 PM PST by skepsel (Apres moi, le deluge.)
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To: colorado tanker

There were varieties developed in England that smell like cheese, when growing. I assume they smell that way when dried.


11 posted on 12/12/2018 5:29:30 PM PST by gundog ( Hail to the Chief, bitches!)
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To: fr_freak
The cops can simply say they smelled marijuana, and then have the right to search any damn house on the block.

What have you got to hide? /s

12 posted on 12/12/2018 5:39:00 PM PST by NobleFree ("law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual")
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To: KC_Lion
a trained and experienced officer’s detection of the aroma of marijuana

Like the trained and experienced officer who identified bits of Krispy Kreme glaze as meth?

13 posted on 12/12/2018 5:40:34 PM PST by NobleFree ("law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual")
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To: KC_Lion

While I detest the war on pot, this decision fully comports with Kansas law.

Having been around pot all of my life I can say unequivocally you can smell a large amount of marijuana, often from blocks away.


14 posted on 12/12/2018 5:45:10 PM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Mariner

But anyone who claims they can small less than an ounce inside tupperware, inside a safe from outside the front door is a damn liar.

A dirty damn liar.


15 posted on 12/12/2018 5:48:30 PM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: NobleFree

As a matter of fact, yes.


16 posted on 12/12/2018 5:51:09 PM PST by KC_Lion (If you want on First Lady Melania's, Ivanka Trump's or Sarah Palin's Ping Lists, just let me know.)
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To: Valpal1

“The only significant amount of unsmoked marijuana was 25 grams stored in a closed Tupperware container locked inside a safe located in Hubbard’s bedroom closet.”

So the cop lied that he smelled it when he was outside the front door.


17 posted on 12/12/2018 6:36:31 PM PST by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: DesertRhino

That would be my suspicion, also just like cigarette smoke, pot smoke will permeate a house, car, clothing. The problem I have is they said they smelled “raw” marijuana, not burning pot or residual or stale dope smoke in order to get the warrant.


18 posted on 12/12/2018 6:59:58 PM PST by Valpal1
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To: KC_Lion

What else smells like pot that could cause confusion?


19 posted on 12/13/2018 8:01:06 AM PST by Harpotoo (Being a socialist is a lot easier than having to WORK like the rest of US:-))
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To: Harpotoo
What else smells like pot that could cause confusion?

A skunk.

20 posted on 12/13/2018 8:01:56 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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