Violated Rights and Late Charges

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Maryland
Sorry its long but i had to explain it all, please help....

I was sitting at left only turn lane of a red light. The officer was one car back in the next lane going preparing to go straight. The light turned and as I made my turn the officer abruptly followed me and pulled me over. the officer (officer 1) approached from the passenger side window and I rolled it down. He requested my license and registration, informing
me that he initially believed there was something covering or obstructing my license plate. Upon out of the vehicle inspection he found no issue. Officer 1 seemed to be frantically sweeping the inside of the vehicle with his flashlight thru the passenger window. Mean while a second officer approached my drivers side and was intently searching my vehicle thru the windows with his flashlight. Another officer arrived on scene. The officer 1 returned to his vehicle to look up my information. The second and now third officer approached my drivers side, knocking on the window. My window recenlty stopped working on the drivers side so I could not roll it down. I explained this and suggested coming to the passenger side to speak. Officer 2 then told me to open the door. I openned the door slightly, when officer 2 placed his hand on the window and fully openned the door. While re-asking similar questions to the first officer, officer 2 was searching my vehicle from the open door way, around my legs, in the back seat and what he could see with me sitting there. Mean while the third officer was shinning his flashlight through the rear window looking into the back seat & floor. After approx 5-10 minutes the officer 1 returned to the passenger side window and again informed me that he was incorrect about the license plate. Again he was intentely searching the vehicle through the open passenger window. Suddenly officer 1 asked if I had anything illegal on me. Officer 2 leaned through the open door picking up something stating he had discovered a marijuana plant stem. Officer 2 (drivers door) then requested i step out. Officer 1 at the passenger side began to search asking if there was anything he should know about in the vehicle before he began searching. I stated "I had nothing on my persons". Officer 2 and 3 brought me to the back drivers side of the car and searched me. then sat me on the bumper of the police car. Officer 2 then joined the search in the vehicle while officer 3 questioned me about my employement and residencey in the area. I asked officer 3 if he could explain what exactly officer 1 had thought was the problem with the license plate. He couldnt explain exactly what officer 1 had observed when asked. After approx 10 minutes the officers concluded the search, finding a marijuana pipe and approx 1 gram of marijuana. I was then asked to step to the side of the road where I was photographed and my information was again taken. While the officers recorded and bagged their evidence, officer 2 explained the current situation and the penalty carried with being found guilty. After some time, officer 2 came to me and informed me that officer 1 was going to drop the substance charge (marijuana) and only charge me with the glass pipe found with marijuana residue in it. They explained the citation I signed it and was let go.

--Now I don't know if i was profiled because of the area it was in and the time, but I have never been treated so suspiciously and pre-condemned when the stop originated from the cops mistake. I just don't believe they would have done it to someone older. I am mid 20s. And give me a Break, that excuse for pulling me over is lame at best and a bullshit lie in the worst.
--And if I challenged this theory in court, could the officers come back and file the marijuana charge on me that they let me slide on?

Profiling is not illegal.

The cause for making a stop is thin and just being mistaken doesn't necessarily make it invalid.

Expecting you to get out of the car is not unreasonable.

Looking in the windows is allowed.

You might be able to beat this in court, but none of your arguments so far are right and saying things are lame and bull (please do not use profanity here or in court) isn't going to be compelling in your defense. Get a lawyer.

I am a bit curious about the title of your post. How, exactly, do you feel that your rights were violated? Was it your rights under the 1st Amendment? 2nd? 4th? 5th?...14? I'm not necessarily saying that your rights were NOT violated. But, considering that violation of a person's civil rights under color of authority is a very serious Federal offense, punishable by incarceration in a Federal Penitentiary, I'm just curious if you actually have any knowledgeable basis for making the accusation.

But, back to your post...were you profiled because of your age and the area you were in? Yes, it is likely that the area you were in was ONE factor that inspired the officer's to take a closer look, and your age was another. And, yes, it is perfectly acceptable and legal for a cop to have his/her interest rouse by these and other factors. While it does not amount to reasonable suspicion to detain, it can certainly draw a cop's attention and/or cause him/her to take a closer look once a legitimate detention is made. Stopping you for a perceived equipment violation? Perfectly acceptable. Looking inside your car with a flashlight? Perfectly acceptable. Fully opening your door when you can or will not roll the window down and open the door only a crack? Perfectly acceptable. Ordering you out of the car when evidence of contraband is discovered? Perfectly acceptable. Warrantless search of your car after contraband has already been discovered? Perfectly acceptable (in just about every state except mine :grumpy: ). Questioning you about "my employement and residencey in the area?" Perfectly acceptable (you are not obligated to answer, but the cops can certainly ask). Photographing you and taking your "information?" Perfectly acceptable. Choosing to charge you with only paraphernalia and not the dope? Perfectly acceptable. None of these actions violated your rights in any way or were even inappropriate.

Now, with all that said, I actually think that you may have a valid case here...just not for the reasons you seem to think. You say that the cop admitted that he was mistaken about the equipment violation when he first spoke to you. So, the scenario that I am envisioning from that statement is: 1 - cop sees what he thinks is an equipment violation, 2 - cop stops you, 3 - cop approached your car and discovers that no violation actually exists, 4 - cop gets your license, registration, etc., and 5 - everything else that led to the discovery of your dope. Now, if that exact sequence of events is how it actually happened, then you have grounds to have the dope & paraphernalia suppressed because your rights WERE technically violated (although in a non-malicious, non-criminal manner). Specifically, your 4th Amendment right against unreasonable search & seizure was violated. If the cop discovered that his initial reason for stopping you (obstructed license plate) was mistaken BEFORE there was any reason to suspect some other violation (dope & paraphernalia), then he was obligated to terminate the detention at that point. Even demanding your license, etc,. after discovering his mistake, is not allowed. Holding you there (seizing you), after his initial reasonable suspicion was alleviated, is unreasonable. Therefore, any further investigation (search) during that unreasonable seizure is also unreasonable, and the fruits of such investigation (dope & paraphernalia) is inadmissible in court.

Thanks for the quick responses. I'm certainly not out to skim some deal from the courts. I just legitimately felt that due to the officer being mistaken that the level of suspicion i was treated with and the over aggressive nature of the stop (in my opinion) was unreasonable. I have never been in trouble with the law. I even have friends that our police officers. What I do take some offense to is that the reason I was pulled over was a mistake. After that mistake was realized. I should have been allowed to go on my way. Due to my age, the area, and the time of night, the officer chose to extend the stop in order to further investigate me through no fault of my own. I didnt know whether or not that was illegal but it did feel wrong. If an officer can pull anyone over for anything, anytime, and then with two other officers comb every inch of my car as if I had a history of drug crime and was not open and compliant, then maybe we should just have like dui stops everywhere day and night, except they can search every single person one by one and make everyone equally suspect. They would not have treated an older gentleman or female in that manner. As I said before, it just felt off and unreasonable to me and I was looking for advise. Thanks again for your responses. In the end I suppose it will be their word against mine, and I have retained a lawyer now.

If I understand you properly, they were looking in your car from the outside.
They are allowed to do that.

All it takes for a stop is articulable suspicion. We can't judge based on what you told us whether the stop was legal or not, just tell you that it doesn't take much. A lawyer will have to discover what the police allege and find out if the subsequent chain of events can be used against you or not.

In a "their word against mine" with the police, you'll lose.