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Snow v. Maryland9/4/1990
officer to detain defendant long enough to check and see if he had a valid license to operate the car." Hewey, 471 A.2d at 239. Similarly, if that had occurred here, we would hold it "reasonable" under the circumstances. But in the instant case, the officer did not perform a related "administrative procedure." Rather, the officer seized Snow's vehicle for a suspected offense which was unrelated to the initial reason for which Snow was stopped. The first stage of the incident, the speeding, was complete when Paros moved to the second act of detaining Snow for the scan of his vehicle. Thus, the tenet that, " he scope of the search must be 'strictly tied to and justified by' the circumstances which rendered its initiation permissible[,]" Terry, 392 U.S. at 19, 88 S.Ct. at 1878, quoting Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 310, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 1652, 18 L.Ed.2d 782 (1967) (Fortas, J. concurring), applies here.
Conclusion
The case at bar demonstrates a police officer's "hunch" that there were illegal drugs in Snow's vehicle. It so happens that the "hunch" was correct, but this does not justify the seizure of Snow and his passenger, which was an additional intrusion on Snow's Fourth Amendment rights.
The comments of the judge who heard the motion to suppress indicate some of the dangers of approving the officer's actions. The motions judge concluded that hearing with the following exchange:
"THE COURT: Well, I've already said that the detention was very limited in this case. It was bang, bang, within moments from the time the officer told him to go into the grass until the officer alerted, until the dog alerted. The officer certainly had a right to detain him up to that point.
"[SNOW'S ATTORNEY]: Judge, just for the record, this is the weakest, weakest probable cause I think I've ever seen. Just like the one we had before where Paros said, 'Yes, any person in Cecil County went and said he had to go to the bathroom with a station 3 miles behind and had tinted windows, that's enough for me to lock him up.' And that's what the citizens of Cecil County face, Judge.
"THE COURT: They carry drugs, they've got to.
"[SNOW'S ATTORNEY]: I'm talking about those that don't carry drugs.
"THE COURT: The ones that don't carry drugs, they shouldn't be subjected to anything. All right."
We think these words and the potential for abuse speak for themselves.
JUDGMENT REVERSED. CASE REMANDED TO THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR CECIL COUNTY FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION. CECIL COUNTY TO PAY COSTS.
Disposition
JUDGMENT REVERSED. CASE REMANDED TO THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR CECIL COUNTY FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION. CECIL COUNTY TO PAY COSTS.
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