ST PAUL, Minn. — Editor's Note: The video above first aired on Aug. 23, 2023.
A decision released Wednesday by the Minnesota Supreme Court could have far-reaching implications when it comes to the search of vehicles by law enforcement and the admissibility of evidence gained in those searches.
The decision involves the case of Adam Lloyd Torgerson, who was charged in 2021 with possession of methamphetamine paraphernalia in the presence of a minor and fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance after a traffic stop. During that stop, a Litchfield police officer pulled Torgerson over for an equipment violation, smelled marijuana and conducted a search of his vehicle.
During that search, officers discovered three pipes, a bag filled with a white powdery substance, and a film canister with a broken crystal-like substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine.
Torgerson and his attorneys moved to suppress the evidence, arguing that the officers illegally expanded the traffic stop into a search without probable cause. The two officers testified during a hearing that the smell wasn't the faintest they'd experienced, but not the strongest either. Neither said they saw any signs of impairment from the defendant.
After considering the matter, a Meeker County District Court judge ordered that the evidence against Torgerson be suppressed and the complaint be dismissed.
The State appealed the District Court decision and was rebuffed again by the State Court of Appeals, which explained that because the officers did not witness Torgerson drive unsafely or erratically, did not recall Torgerson displaying any indicia of impairment, nervous or evasive behavior, or furtive movements, and did not see any drug paraphernalia in plain view in the vehicle, the search was not warranted.
Prosecutors then asked the Minnesota Supreme Court to consider the matter. In court documents, the State argues that "there is established precedent from our court and the United States Supreme Court that clearly holds the odor of marijuana, alone, is sufficient to support probable cause to search a vehicle under the automobile exception."
Torgerson's team countered by arguing that, "under the totality of circumstances test, the odor of marijuana, alone, cannot create the requisite probable cause to search a vehicle under the automobile exception."
After much consideration and the dissection of precedents, the high court's justices affirmed the rulings of both the district and state appeals courts, saying the smell of marijuana alone did not constitute probable cause for a search and that evidence recovered from Torgerson's vehicle should be suppressed.
"There was nothing in Torgerson’s actions to give suspicion that he was under the influence while driving, no drug paraphernalia or other evidence to indicate that the marijuana was being used in a manner, or was of such a quantity, so as to be criminally illegal, and no evidence showing that any use was not for legal medicinal purposes," the court stated in its opinion. "In the absence of any other evidence as part of the totality of the circumstances analysis, the evidence of the medium-strength odor of marijuana, on its own, is insufficient to establish a fair probability that the search would yield evidence of criminally illegal drug-related contraband or conduct."
The case originated before the official legalization of cannabis in the state of Minnesota this summer.
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