U.S. v. Jackson

Defendant, who was found guilty of possessing a firearm as a felon, appealed from the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence, arguing that the evidence of the gun was the product of an unlawful search. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the smell of unburnt marijuana outside of a sealed container supplied probable cause for a search and that it was legal for the officer to order defendant out of his car during a traffic stop to conduct a search . The Seventh Circuit further explained that defendant then chose to flee, which caused a firearm to fall out of his pants, and, as a result, the trial court did not err when it denied defendant’s motion to suppress evidence of the weapon. (SCUDDER and LEE, concurring)