Gerald Amison eased his pickup through the Richloam tract of the Withlacoochee State Forest around dusk on April 29, 2006.
A wildlife officer charged with catching illegal hunting and fishing activity spotted him and flipped on his overhead lights. Walking toward Amison's pickup, the officer smelled marijuana smoke. He searched the truck and found a baggie with the drug in a toolbox.
Amison, then 22, was arrested. He later pleaded no contest to the drug possession charge.
His public defender fought the evidence, arguing it was obtained improperly because the wildlife officer had no suspicion that Amison had been poaching wildlife in the vast forest that spans parts of Pasco and Hernando counties.
A Pasco judge rejected the argument, but this week an appeals court sided with Amison, of Dade City.
"We conclude that the officer needed reasonable suspicion to stop Amison's vehicle," the 2nd District Court of Appeal judges wrote.
The decision means Amison's conviction is vacated, and the state cannot charge him again.
But it's unclear what, if any, effect the decision will have on how wildlife officers patrol state lands.
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guards against unreasonable searches and seizures. Law enforcement officers must have probable cause to stop and search someone.
But in a state-owned wildlife management area, officers regularly check to make sure people are obeying hunting and fishing regulations. Such stops are called "resource inspections."
The appellate judges wrote that the officer who arrested Amison hadn't observed him hunting or fishing and didn't see any guns or fishing poles. Nonetheless, the officer believed he had the authority to detain anyone for a regulatory inspection in the wildlife management area, the opinion says.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials did not return a message for comment Friday.
Assistant State Attorney Stacey Sumner said no decision has been made on whether the state will appeal the decision to the Florida Supreme Court.
The state had cited a Wildlife Commission rule that authorizes its officers to do regulatory inspections.
But the appellate judges said such broad power conflicts with state law.
"We have found no statutory authority for a wildlife officer to stop a citizen for a regulatory inspection without any reasonable suspicion that the person is violating any law or wildlife regulation," the opinion says.
Before the officer stopped Amison and smelled marijuana, all he'd seen him do was back his truck away from a nearby waterway.
Assistant Public Defender Gary Welch, who wrote Amison's appeal, explained the ruling this way: "They just took the position that if you're there, they get to search you." But, "the statute says otherwise."
News Hawk: MsRedEye: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: St. Petersburg Times
Author: Molly Moorhead
Copyright: 2009 St. Petersburg Times
Contact: St. Petersburg Times: Connect
Website: Appellate court ruling tosses conviction in state park marijuana bust - St. Petersburg Times
A wildlife officer charged with catching illegal hunting and fishing activity spotted him and flipped on his overhead lights. Walking toward Amison's pickup, the officer smelled marijuana smoke. He searched the truck and found a baggie with the drug in a toolbox.
Amison, then 22, was arrested. He later pleaded no contest to the drug possession charge.
His public defender fought the evidence, arguing it was obtained improperly because the wildlife officer had no suspicion that Amison had been poaching wildlife in the vast forest that spans parts of Pasco and Hernando counties.
A Pasco judge rejected the argument, but this week an appeals court sided with Amison, of Dade City.
"We conclude that the officer needed reasonable suspicion to stop Amison's vehicle," the 2nd District Court of Appeal judges wrote.
The decision means Amison's conviction is vacated, and the state cannot charge him again.
But it's unclear what, if any, effect the decision will have on how wildlife officers patrol state lands.
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guards against unreasonable searches and seizures. Law enforcement officers must have probable cause to stop and search someone.
But in a state-owned wildlife management area, officers regularly check to make sure people are obeying hunting and fishing regulations. Such stops are called "resource inspections."
The appellate judges wrote that the officer who arrested Amison hadn't observed him hunting or fishing and didn't see any guns or fishing poles. Nonetheless, the officer believed he had the authority to detain anyone for a regulatory inspection in the wildlife management area, the opinion says.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials did not return a message for comment Friday.
Assistant State Attorney Stacey Sumner said no decision has been made on whether the state will appeal the decision to the Florida Supreme Court.
The state had cited a Wildlife Commission rule that authorizes its officers to do regulatory inspections.
But the appellate judges said such broad power conflicts with state law.
"We have found no statutory authority for a wildlife officer to stop a citizen for a regulatory inspection without any reasonable suspicion that the person is violating any law or wildlife regulation," the opinion says.
Before the officer stopped Amison and smelled marijuana, all he'd seen him do was back his truck away from a nearby waterway.
Assistant Public Defender Gary Welch, who wrote Amison's appeal, explained the ruling this way: "They just took the position that if you're there, they get to search you." But, "the statute says otherwise."
News Hawk: MsRedEye: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: St. Petersburg Times
Author: Molly Moorhead
Copyright: 2009 St. Petersburg Times
Contact: St. Petersburg Times: Connect
Website: Appellate court ruling tosses conviction in state park marijuana bust - St. Petersburg Times
