No Warrantless Search based on smell of weed State v Pompa
Following his conviction of various drug offenses, defendant appealed the denial of his motion to suppress in excess of thirty pounds of marijuana seized by police without a warrant from a closet in the sleeper cabin of defendant’s tractor trailer. The court held that the closely regulated business exception permitted a warrantless administrative inspection of certain areas of the tractor-trailer, but concluded that the search turned unlawful when it progressed into unregulated areas without the exigent circumstances required by State v. Pena-Flores, 198 NJ 6, 28 (2009).
