People v. Grant

This case presents question as to whether trial court properly denied defendant’s motion to suppress his arrest and subsequent search that revealed drugs on his person where arrest was based on officer’s observation that defendant had violated local ordinance prohibiting solicitation of unlawful business where defendant had yelled “dro, dro” to passing car while standing in high-volume narcotics spot? Appellate Court, in reversing defendant’s drug possession conviction, found that facts adduced at suppression hearing would not have been sufficient to charge defendant with ordinance violation, where reasonable person would not have known that phrase “dro, dro” was slang for cannabis, and thus govt. lacked probable cause to arrest defendant for said ordinance violation or search him.