Police can no longer rely on their sense of smell as a reason to order people out of their cars.
Updates a story posted Tuesday at 1:31 p.m.
SPRINGFIELD - In a move that could further weaken the state’s marijuana regulations, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has made it tougher for investigators to sniff out possible pot crimes.
The SJC ruled Wednesday that the odor of marijuana wafting from a car is no longer sufficient reason for police to order people from their vehicles, citing the commonwealth’s partial decriminalization of pot as the linchpin of its argument.
“Without at least some other additional fact to bolster a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, the odor of burnt marijuana alone cannot reasonably provide suspicion of criminal activity to justify an exit order,” the court ruled in a decision written by Chief Justice Roderick Ireland.
“It is unreasonable for the police to spend time conducting warrantless searches for contraband when no specific facts suggest criminality,” he said.
Ireland said the high court’s conclusion was based on the “principle of proportionality,” citing case law requiring the degree of police intrusion to be “proportional to the degree of suspicion that prompted the intrusion” in the first place. The SJC also made it clear that it was mindful of the will of the people, who overwhelmingly supported partial decriminalization in a November 2008 ballot initiative that made possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a civil infraction, rather than a misdemeanor crime.
Individuals caught with less than an ounce of pot must forfeit the drug and pay a $100 fine, which is roughly the price of a speeding ticket. The measure, known as Question 2, was supported by 65 percent of Massachusetts voters.
“Possession of one ounce or less of marijuana should not be considered a serious infraction worthy of criminal sanction. ... Ferreting out decriminalized conduct with the same fervor associated with the pursuit of serious criminal conduct is neither desired by the public, nor in accord with the plain language of the statute,” according to the SJC decision.
Ireland went on to write, “Without probable cause that a crime is being committed, we cannot condone such an intrusive measure as a warrantless search.”
Reaction throughout the Western Massachusetts law enforcement community was muted on Tuesday, with most officials failing to respond to messages left by The Republican. Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni did not return a phone call seeking comment, while Mary Carey, the communications director for Northwest District Attorney David E. Sullivan, said her boss likely would not be able to respond immediately to the ruling.
It remains unclear how Tuesday’s decision might impact police investigations, particularly the work of drug investigators. It’s also unknown how the ruling might influence current cases, in which police officers used the odor of burnt marijuana as probable cause for a criminal investigation.
Some members of the region’s legal community believe the court’s decision makes perfect sense.
“As a criminal defense attorney, I think it’s a good move,” said public defender Andrew M. Klyman, the attorney in charge of the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Hampden Superior Court.
“I definitely think this is a logical step,” he said, adding that decision supplements the 2008 ballot initiative. Officer Richard Rodrigues, a spokesman for Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said the Springfield Police Department will adhere to the court’s decision.
“We will always comply with the rulings of the highest court in the (state),” Rodrigues said.
In Springfield, police often use the detection of marijuana as probable cause to search vehicles for other drugs. Early Sunday morning, for example, Springfield police pulled over a man for speeding in the North End. After stopping the vehicle at Main and Portland streets, police said they smelled burnt marijuana and asked the driver and his passenger to exit the car so they could search for drugs.
The driver, Edwin Martinez, 31, of 70 Temple St., then told police he had marijuana in his pocket, which the officers confiscated. A more detailed search, however, yielded cocaine and nearly $4,000 in cash, police said. Martinez was charged with cocaine possession and issued a ticket for possession of less than an ounce of pot. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Springfield District Court on April 21.