DRUG ARREST PASSES SMELL TEST

State Supreme Court Upholds B.E. County Arrest

A Minnesota State Patrol trooper had legal grounds to search the
passenger in a car after smelling marijuana and finding a dollar bill
that tested positive for cocaine, according to a Minnesota Supreme
Court ruling issued last week.

Trooper Chad Mills searched 43-year-old Danny Ortega of Claremont
after telling him to get out of a car and wait while Mills' police
dog, Rex, searched it. Mills had stopped the car's driver,
47-year-old Lorna Sorg of Dodge Center, in Blue Earth County on Aug. 7, 2004.

While speaking with Sorg, Mills reported smelling a faint odor of
marijuana. He also found the rolled up dollar bill in a cup holder in
the center console of the car after getting consent from Sorg to
search the car. Rex also "alerted" on the seat where Ortega and been sitting.

Ortega had already voluntarily handed Mills a pocket knife and a
small amount of marijuana prior to being patted down, court records
said. After finding the additional evidence in the car, Mills told
Ortega he was under arrest and searched him more thoroughly.

That's when a small amount of cocaine was found in Ortega's back pocket.

Ortega later pleaded guilty to a felony charge of fifth-degree
cocaine possession and received a stayed sentence. However, Ortega
was allowed to challenge the conviction by filing an appeal arguing
the search was illegal. The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued a
ruling last year that said, even though possession of a small amount
of marijuana is only a petty misdemeanor, the marijuana Mills found
gave him probable cause to search Ortega for a criminal amount.

Ortega brought his appeal to the Supreme Court. That unanimous
ruling, written by Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, also said Mills
had legal grounds to search Ortega, but cites the cocaine found in
the vehicle and the fact that Ortega was being placed under arrest.

Searches without a warrant are unconstitutional unless they fall
under a legally recognized exception, the ruling said. One exception
is when someone is being placed under arrest.

"We conclude the cocaine found in the vehicle provided probable cause
to arrest Ortega and thus search him incident to his arrest," Page said.

Ortega also argued that he should have been allowed to walk away
after the traffic stop and before the rolled up bill was found in the
car. Mills had grounds to keep Ortega at the scene because Mills was
alone and had a valid safety concern, the Supreme Court ruling said.

"We reject Ortega's argument because valid officer safety concerns
justified Mills' request for Ortega to exit the vehicle and stand
away from the passenger compartment," Page's explanation said.