State v. Gray

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 4607

Syllabus

MOTION TO SUPPRESS — WARRANTLESS SEARCH — SEARCH INCIDENT TO ARREST — WAIVER — AUTOMOBILE EXCEPTION — MARIJUANA — PROBABLE CAUSE — R.C. CH. 3780: Where the record contained no evidence that officers had a reasonable belief that evidence related to the crime of arrest would be found in the vehicle driven by defendant, and where defendant was secured in a police cruiser and not within reaching distance of the vehicle, a warrantless search of the vehicle was not a valid search incident to arrest. Where a party fails to raise an argument below, the argument is waived and may not be raised for the first time on appeal. A vehicle search for officer safety pursuant to Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032 (1983), is not permissible where the officers have not yet determined if the detained individual will be returning to the vehicle. Following Ohio's legalization of marijuana under certain circumstances in R.C. Ch. 3780, the odor of marijuana alone is no longer sufficient to establish probable cause to search a vehicle under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement. The odor of marijuana remains a relevant factor under the totality of the circumstances in a probable-cause analysis.