State v. Curry

Citations

• 2022 Ohio 627

Syllabus

PROBABLE CAUSE — SEARCH & SEIZURE: The trial court erred by granting defendant's motion to suppress evidence of a firearm found in the trunk of his vehicle during a traffic stop where the investigating police officer's testimony that he detected the odor of raw marijuana coming from the trunk, determined by the court to be credible, was sufficient to establish the probable cause necessary to support the warrantless search under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement. [But see DISSENT: Where it is the role of the trial court to make factual findings and weigh the credibility to be given to the officer's testimony, and where the issue of probable cause is one of fact, the trial court's findings must be accepted unless they are clearly erroneous: the trial court did not find the officer's testimony credible and, therefore, the court correctly granted defendant's motion to suppress.]