TOP COURT TOSSES CASE OUT BECAUSE OF ILLEGAL SEARCH

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday
unanimously reinforced precedent requiring law enforcement officers to
let motorists stopped for traffic violations go once the purpose of
the stop is completed unless they discover specific evidence of
another crime.

In its 6-0 decision, the court overturned Jose Granado's conviction
for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

A Missouri state trooper stopped a truck driven by Granado in Pemiscot
County for allegedly weaving. The trooper issued Granado a warning and
told him he was free to go.

The trooper, however, then asked Granado and his cousin, a passenger,
for permission to search the vehicle. After consent was refused, the
trooper said the vehicle would be detained until a K-9 unit could be
dispatched to check it for illegal drugs. A drug-sniffing dog led
troopers to a duffel bag containing 36 pounds of marijuana and the men
were arrested.

The cousin, who is not mentioned by name in the court's opinion,
testified at trial that he packed the marijuana without Granado's
knowledge. The men, both Texas residents, were en route to Michigan to
see a relative.

The Supreme Court ruled the trooper's action violated the Fourth
Amendment's protections against unreasonable searches.

"The fact that the police may detain a person for a routine traffic
stop does not justify indefinite detention, however," the court wrote
in its unsigned opinion. "The detention may only last for the time
necessary for the officer to conduct a reasonable investigation of the
traffic violation."

Since the trooper testified Granado had done nothing to indicate he
was committing another crime, the court said the detention of the
vehicle and subsequent search were unwarranted.

The court has previously ruled that law enforcement may not use a
routine traffic stop as the sole reason for searching vehicles, since
such a search is unlikely to produce further evidence of a traffic
violation.

The case is State of Missouri v. Jose M. Granado.