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State v. Smith9/29/2000
The State of Alabama appeals from the trial court's order suppressing evidence of marijuana obtained after a traffic stop of Steven Edward Smith's automobile.
At the suppression hearing, the State presented testimony from Cpl. Robert Hyde, a narcotics investigator with the Clarke County Sheriff's Department, who was working in cooperation with an area drug task force. Cpl. Hyde testified that on the evening of January 8, 1998, he was on routine patrol in Thomasville when he noticed a white Camaro automobile traveling slowly along Bashi Road. Cpl. Hyde pulled behind the Camaro and began to follow it. Cpl. Hyde stated that he followed the car on Bashi Road for approximately one to two miles, during which time, he said, he observed the car "kind of easing off the edge of the roadway ... a couple of times." (R. 5-7.) As he followed the car, Cpl. Hyde drew close enough to see its license plate number. Cpl. Hyde stated that as soon as he saw the license plate number-- "MAR11-23" -- he recalled that, several days earlier, a Thomasville police officer had informed him that he had seen this same car in an area of town "frequented by known drug dealers" and had also seen the car's driver in the company of "some folks that are known crack addicts." (R. 6.) Cpl. Hyde then pulled the car over on Bashi Road.
Cpl. Hyde testified that his decision to pull the car over was based on the "erratic" manner in which it was being operated; he stated that because the car was traveling so slowly and was running off the edge of the road, he suspected that its driver "might have been impaired or possibly have been under the influence of either narcotics or alcohol" or that the driver may have been "having some kind of health problem." (R. 8-9; 15.) According to Cpl. Hyde, the information he had received earlier from the Thomasville police officer about the car and its driver did not play a part in his decision to stop the car.
The car's driver and sole occupant was Steven Edward Smith. Cpl. Hyde testified that after Smith pulled over, he walked up to Smith's car and Smith got out and met him near the rear of the vehicle. At that point, Cpl. Hyde told Smith that he had stopped him because he was "weaving" and that he thought he "might be drinking." (R. 9.) He then asked Smith to produce his driver's license. Cpl. Hyde testified that Smith initially pulled a "reporter's card" out of his wallet, and that when he again told Smith that he wanted to see his driver's license, Smith replied, "the State's got it." (R. 9-10.)
Cpl. Hyde then obtained Smith's name and date of birth for the purpose of running a check through the National Crime Information Center computer. Cpl. Hyde testified that as he stood next to Smith's car, he could smell the odor of burnt marijuana emanating from the car, through the open driver's-side window. Cpl. Hyde stated that he then shined his flashlight into the car and saw, between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat, the top of a small plastic bag. Cpl. Hyde walked back to his own car, ran a check using Smith's name and date of birth, and learned that Smith had had his driver's license revoked and that there were two arrest warrants -- one in Thomasville and one in Marengo County -- outstanding on Smith for failure to appear in court. At that time, Linzey Coston, an officer with the Thomasville Police Department, was dispatched to the scene with one of the warrants for Smith's arrest.
After Officer Coston arrived (approximately five minutes later), Cpl. Hyde asked Smith if he would consent to a search of his car. Both Cpl. Hyde and Officer Coston (who also testified at the suppression hearing) stated that Smith gave Cpl. Hyde his verbal consent to searc
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