Pubdate: Tue, 20 Nov 2001
Source: Citizen, The (NH)
Copyright: 2001, Geo. J. Foster Co.
Contact:  http://www.citizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1408

COURT UPHOLDS DRUG CONVICTION

CONCORD (AP) - Police can search a passenger's belongings if the driver of 
the car consents and appears to have authority to grant permission, the 
state Supreme Court ruled Monday.

In the 4-0 decision, the court upheld Charles Sawyer's conviction of 
possession with intent to distribute marijuana and hashish.

Sawyer had argued police searched his bag illegally during a 1999 traffic 
stop. Sawyer was a passenger and did not consent to the search that 
uncovered the drugs.

Prosecutors argued police searched legally under the "doctrine of apparent 
authority."

In siding with prosecutors, the court said "apparent authority" exists when 
police base the search on a reasonable belief the third party had authority 
to consent.

Rochester police arrested Sawyer after stopping a car driven by Joseph 
Stearns for speeding. Sawyer and Leonard Geomelis were passengers.

Officer Michael McQuade said he smelled marijuana when he approached the 
car. After learning the group had come from a bar, he asked Stearns to step 
outside and undergo a field sobriety test, which Stearns passed.

McQuade then asked Stearns whether there were drugs or weapons in the car. 
Stearns said no and McQuade asked permission to search the vehicle, which 
Stearns granted.

McQuade found the drugs in a black nylon bag on the floor behind Stearns' seat.

As police started to handcuff the men, Sawyer told them the others didn't 
have anything to do with the drugs and claimed they belonged to him.

The lower court found McQuade legally searched the car. The high court agreed.

The high court noted that Sawyer did not object to the search, the bag was 
behind Stearns' seat and was the kind often used to hold tape cassettes or 
compact discs.

"This type of bag could reasonably be believed to belong to Stearns, 
particularly when it was found behind his seat," the court said.

Considering the total circumstances, McQuade reasonably concluded he had 
permission to search the bag, the court found.

"Law enforcement officers may not, however, blindly accept a person's 
consent to search," the court cautioned. "If the surrounding circumstances 
would cause a reasonable person to doubt whether the third party had 
authority to consent to the search, the officers may not lawfully act upon 
the consent without further inquiry."
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MAP posted-by: Beth