Critical Thinking: A Local Police Department Suspects That Three Individuals, Alvin, Simon

Multiple Choice

Critical Thinking:
A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options.
-Assume that the traffic stop on the student's return trip had in fact been a valid one. Further assume that an officer legitimately smells marijuana. Evaluate all of the statements below and determine which is true.

A) The officer could conduct a search of the vehicle because the odor of marijuana provides the necessary probable cause, but could not search a closed backpack.
B) The officer could search a closed backpack sitting on the backseat because the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Ross permits a comprehensive search of a vehicle's contents when probable cause exists.
C) After smelling marijuana, the officer needs to call a judge to obtain a warrant before search any part of the vehicle, as declared in the Supreme Court's decision in Kyllo v. United States
D) All statements are false.