Found in Possession of Hashish After Traffic Stop

My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California

Okay so here is what happened. Me and three friends are driving down the street I am seated in the back passenger seat my friend is in front of me his girlfriend is next to me and the driver is driving. So we are driving straight mind our own business, when we look to the left there is a police car on the other side of the street that sees us seeing him so immediately he makes a quick u-turn and gets behind us. We keep driving straight. We pull into a mall parking lot, because that's where we are going to eat. Right as we are parking he throws his lights on asks everyone to get out of the car. Handcuffs all of us. Searches all of us. (The searching part was somewhat legal I suppose, because I and my friend are on probation) When I ask him what we were being pulled over for he stated simply for having out of state license plates. My friend had purchased the vehicle 9 days earlier, from someone visiting CA from florida and it had Florida plates on it. The tags were good and I believe in CA you have 14 days to register it if I'm not mistaken.There was on the floor of the car near where I was sitting hash which my friend received from a Medical Marijuana Dispensary. Had about 1 gram. When the officer found this along with my Doctor's recommendation for the use of medical marijuana he immediately threw me in the back of his squad car. I repeatedly said it isn't mine please just check it my fingerprints aren't on it I swear It's not mine, because truthfully it wasn't. I had never touched the jar of hash and had no knowledge of it being in the car. The officer then called a towing company to tow the car. They towed the car. On the way to the police station the officer said, look I know that this isn't your hash I honestly believe you, but if I were to bring your friend to the police station (who's hash it actually was) my sergeant might tell me I need to let him go, because the hash was closest to you. I was then booked into the jail for a Felony of H&S 11357 Possession of Hash.

I bailed myself out the next day, and immediately went to my law professor at my college. He told me it is the duty of the police officer to know all state and local laws, prior to pulling someone over, or making an arrest.

According to the attorney General of California his definition of cannabis under the guidelines of Prop 215 ( Which allows CA residents with a medical condition to use medical marijuana to treat their illness) is that Hash was, and is covered and you can use it without fearing of legal prosecution.

I called the City attorney of LA yesterday and she said that the District Attorney had rejected the case, because the officer clearly wasn't trained properly or up to date on what the HEAD STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT'S position was on medical marijuana.

Anyways what my question is, is was any of this legal or was it a false arrest, followed by false imprisonment?

There are variables present, which suggest you may not have been in compliance with Section 11362.5 , IMO, the officer felt you may have committed a crime and left it up to the DA to handle. We do not know what about the vehicle with out of state plates made the officer suspicious. Neither do you.

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The tags were good and I believe in CA you have 14 days to register it if I'm not mistaken.

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actually, the tags weren't good. They do not transfer with the vehicle so once the vehicle is sold, the plates are no longer valid, at least for the new owner.



while the cops statement of why they pulled you over was not valid, without interviewing the cop, there is no way to determine if he actually had a valid reason. Since he started to pull out before he even had a chance to see the car had out of state plates, I suspect there was some other reason for the interaction.

so, was the stop legal? Not enough info.

was the arrest legit? doesn't sound like it

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Quoting matt4200

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(The searching part was somewhat legal I suppose, because I and my friend are on probation) When I ask him what we were being pulled over for he stated simply for having out of state license plates.

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I suspect the officer was being flippant as he must know that having out of state plates is not a lawful reason to stop a car.

Did the officer know either of you? Did he know the driver and that the driver is on probation? If so, then he could pull the driver over simply to conduct a search. Heck, if I see a car occupied by a number of local probationers, I have done the same thing.

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The tags were good and I believe in CA you have 14 days to register it if I'm not mistaken.

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It is 20 days.

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There was on the floor of the car near where I was sitting hash which my friend received from a Medical Marijuana Dispensary. Had about 1 gram.

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Why dd your friend have HIS "medical" hash on the floor in the back near you? Sounds ... peculiar.

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I repeatedly said it isn't mine please just check it my fingerprints aren't on it I swear It's not mine, because truthfully it wasn't.

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Did you know it was there? The crime of possession is about dominion and control, not ownership. But, you can make his argument in court.

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I had never touched the jar of hash and had no knowledge of it being in the car.

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Really? You're sitting inches away from it and you never noticed a JAR? Really?!

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The officer then called a towing company to tow the car. They towed the car.

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Why was the car towed? Was the driver unlicensed or suspended? Was the driver arrested? Was the registration more than 6 months expired?

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I bailed myself out the next day, and immediately went to my law professor at my college. He told me it is the duty of the police officer to know all state and local laws, prior to pulling someone over, or making an arrest.

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And what makes you think he didn't?

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According to the attorney General of California his definition of cannabis under the guidelines of Prop 215 ( Which allows CA residents with a medical condition to use medical marijuana to treat their illness) is that Hash was, and is covered and you can use it without fearing of legal prosecution.

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Your professor needs to read the statute a little more carefully. Your "recommendation" can be used as part of an affirmative defense, but only the state issued DHS card can act as a "stay out of jail free card." Is there a reason you do not have your state issued card?

As a side note, you wanna know the percentage of medical providers that have affirmed providing recommendations to their patients when asked to do so by my county's DA? That would be zero percent. None. For some reason the doctors that issue these recommendations never seem to want to affirm that they did issue one for a medical necessity. Fascinating. But, without any way to confirm these recommendations, their utility and reliability is very often in question.

That being said, many counties will drop the matter when/if the defense presents the recommendation. Your attorney can discuss this with the prosecutor. There could be enough question as to the strength of the possession allegation possession to justify the prosecutor reconsidering the charge.

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I called the City attorney of LA yesterday and she said that the District Attorney had rejected the case, because the officer clearly wasn't trained properly or up to date on what the HEAD STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT'S position was on medical marijuana.

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There is no "Head State Law Enforcement" person. If they are referring to the Attorney General, then that office's most recent comprehensive position on medical marijuana has already been partially by case law. I don't know what falderall the city attorney told you, or how/why they might know the status of the DA's case, but they were either blowing smoke to sound nice, or they were not aware of all the facts. It might very well be that the officer was wrong about something ... but, he could just as easily have done everything correct.

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Anyways what my question is, is was any of this legal or was it a false arrest, followed by false imprisonment?

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If the stop was good and the search was based upon probable cause and/or your or the driver's probation status, then it's all good in that regard.

I'd still like to know the justification for the detention (the stop). Out of state plates is not sufficient. EXPIRED out of state plates, is.

As a note, if you want to avoid jail, get the state-issued DHS card.

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Quoting jk

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actually, the tags weren't good. They do not transfer with the vehicle so once the vehicle is sold, the plates are no longer valid, at least for the new owner.

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But, unless the officer knows this as FL law, and had prior knowledge before the stop that the driver was not the person to whom the tags were issued, the stop would have been no good. Similarly, how would the officer have known that the driver was not the person they were registered to, or a friend of the registered owner?

No, a stop SOLELY for out of state plates is not lawful unless the officer has specific knowledge of the registration policies in that state and the plates are also illegal here. If the FL plates were expired, and that could be determined visually by the tabs or by running the plates, then that's easy. If the stop was for having one plate, then that's questionable because while CA issues two plates, some states do not require two plates and unless the officer could say that one plate is unlawful in FL, too, then the stop would be bad.

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while the cops statement of why they pulled you over was not valid, without interviewing the cop, there is no way to determine if he actually had a valid reason. Since he started to pull out before he even had a chance to see the car had out of state plates, I suspect there was some other reason for the interaction.

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I agree entirely.

The police report should have the reasons for the stop. But, if there is no court proceeding then there will be no discovery and no chance to review that report, it seems.

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But, unless the officer knows this as FL law, and had prior knowledge before the stop that the driver was not the person to whom the tags were issued, the stop would have been no good. Similarly, how would the officer have known that the driver was not the person they were registered to, or a friend of the registered owner?

No, a stop SOLELY for out of state plates is not lawful unless the officer has specific knowledge of the registration policies in that state and the plates are also illegal here. If the FL plates were expired, and that could be determined visually by the tabs or by running the plates, then that's easy. If the stop was for having one plate, then that's questionable because while CA issues two plates, some states do not require two plates and unless the officer could say that one plate is unlawful in FL, too, then the stop would be bad.

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I wasn't intending on suggesting that was a valid reason for the stop. It was merely a statement to the OP that their belief the plates were still good was simply wrong. I completely agree that the stop based on the plates, unless there was some indication they were expired would not be valid.

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Quoting jk

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I wasn't intending on suggesting that was a valid reason for the stop. It was merely a statement to the OP that their belief the plates were still good was simply wrong. I completely agree that the stop based on the plates, unless there was some indication they were expired would not be valid.

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Ah ... my apologies for getting it a little skewed. I had thought you were making an argument that because the plates in FL belong to the owner and not the car that the stop would be valid. Had the officer known that to be the case before the stop, an argument could be made. So, it is actually possible (assuming that's the law in FL - I don't know).

I believe, as you do, that there was some better reason for the stop. I suspect the officer was being flippant when he stated the reason for the stop was the out of state plates. At least, I hope for HIS sake that it was for something better than that.

Or in fact, that he had some other reason for the stop but his pressing inquiry (i.e., the first thing after license and registration) was why the car had out of state plates. While it's certainly not grounds to stop the car itself, asking the driver if they are indeed the owner, if they are a resident of Florida, etc... is certainly not out of the question.

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Quoting flyingron

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Or in fact, that he had some other reason for the stop but his pressing inquiry (i.e., the first thing after license and registration) was why the car had out of state plates. While it's certainly not grounds to stop the car itself, asking the driver if they are indeed the owner, if they are a resident of Florida, etc... is certainly not out of the question.

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So long as the stop was not made simply to ask that question.

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Quoting matt4200

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Okay so here is what happened. Me and three friends are driving down the street I am seated in the back passenger seat my friend is in front of me his girlfriend is next to me and the driver is driving. So we are driving straight mind our own business, when we look to the left there is a police car on the other side of the street that sees us seeing him so immediately he makes a quick u-turn and gets behind us. We keep driving straight. We pull into a mall parking lot, because that's where we are going to eat. Right as we are parking he throws his lights on asks everyone to get out of the car. Handcuffs all of us.

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Is there any more to this part of the story than whas you posted here?

Before the search, which also means, before the officer could ask you and the driver individually if you're on probation/parole and have you answer "yes + the reason why...".

Same question as this from Carl:

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Quoting cdwjava

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Did the officer know either of you? Did he know the driver and that the driver is on probation? If so, then he could pull the driver over simply to conduct a search. Heck, if I see a car occupied by a number of local probationers, I have done the same thing.

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Or is there more to it than just ^that^?

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Quoting matt4200

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There was on the floor of the car near where I was sitting hash which my friend received from a Medical Marijuana Dispensary. Had about 1 gram.

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You were in the back seat though... And your friend was sitting in the front seat (his GF next to you and the driver driving..).. And it was still your friend's hash, and you still had no knowledge of it?

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Quoting matt4200

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The officer then called a towing company to tow the car. They towed the car.

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Why was the car towed?

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Quoting matt4200

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On the way to the police station the officer said, look I know that this isn't your hash I honestly believe you, but if I were to bring your friend to the police station (who's hash it actually was) my sergeant might tell me I need to let him go, because the hash was closest to you. I was then booked into the jail for a Felony of H&S 11357 Possession of Hash.

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Actually, if you really think about it, you were violating your probation in more ways than one by being where you were with the individuals you were with and while in possession of the things you (or they) possessed.

So you could have had the bracelet treatment regardless of where the hash was closest to you or to its "true" owner!

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Quoting matt4200

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I called the City attorney of LA yesterday and she said that the District Attorney had rejected the case, because the officer clearly wasn't trained properly or up to date on what the HEAD STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT'S position was on medical marijuana.

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The city attorney of LA is the prosecuting attorney for cases and arrests made by the LAPD within the limits of the City of Los Angeles.

The District Attorney is the prosecuting attorney for cases and arrests made by any of the police agencies within the county of LA (with the exception of the Cities of L.A., Pasadena and Long Beach)... They don't share cases and they certainly don't have time to keep track of each other's cases.

So your story breaks down by how it starts, then the car gets towed for no apparent reason whatsoever, and then you claim "false arrest, imprisonment" based on a decision to not prosecute your case by the DA where this news was given to you by the C.A.

I think you should read the terms of your probation again.... Better yet, have your law professor explain them to you!

The officer may have known my friend the passenger but definitely not the driver. And I suspect the hash was on the floor nearest me because as a reaction to getting pulled over my friend threw the hash under his seat and it sled towards me.




And yes the driver did end up having a suspended license. It did have at least 20 days until the registration would expire then, if the law says my friend had 20 days to transfer it correct? The tags say good til April 2013 though.

If the stop wasn't lawful then the towing wan't lawful and if the stop and towing weren't even if I didn't have my medical marijuana recommendation from a physician the arrest wouldn't be lawful.

So was the arrest for hash lawful? The officer had a malicious intent. And knew that I did not commit the crime