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Appeals court hears challenge to warrantless truck search after officers spotted small plastic bag
Summary
At the April 3 sitting the Commonwealth and defense disputed whether officers had probable cause to search a truck after seeing a small plastic bag described by officers as a "corner baggie," with counsel debating the reach of Commonwealth v. Garcia and the significance of field sobriety tests and the defendant’s movements.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court heard oral argument April 3 in Commonwealth v. Morris Clemens (2024-P1004) over whether a trial court properly suppressed evidence recovered during a warrantless search of the defendant’s pickup truck.
The question presented, Jesse Crane told the three-justice panel, is “whether Commonwealth v. Garcia applies given the motion judge’s factual findings on the motion to suppress.” Crane, arguing for the Commonwealth, described the judge’s earlier factual findings — that the defendant displayed “indicia of impairment,” reached toward a bag on the driver’s-side floor, and that officers “recognized a corner baggie”…
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