The New Jersey Appellate Division just reversed a conviction for possession of Xanax and held that a warrantless strip search was illegal, holding the officer's suspicion that the item in appellant's groin area was a prescription pill bottle did not establish probable cause that appellant possessed an illegal substance. In State v. Jules, the court found there was no "objectively reasonable" basis to arrest appellant for possession of prescription pills, only that there was probable cause to arrest him for marijuana possession. Therefore, the police could not use the search incident to arrest exception to circumvent the protections that arose from appellant's arrest. Furthermore, exigency could not support the search once the police handcuffed and secured appellant. Finally, the court found the "plain feel" exception inapplicable because the object believed to be a prescription pill bottle did not make it "immediately apparent" that the bottle contained contraband. Accordingly, the court reversed denial of suppression and remanded for dismissal of the judgment of conviction.
The New Jersey Appellate Division just reversed a conviction for possession of Xanax and held that a warrantless strip search was illegal, holding the officer's suspicion that the item in appellant's groin area was a prescription pill bottle did not establish probable cause that appellant possessed an illegal substance. In State v. Jules, the court found there was no "objectively reasonable" basis to arrest appellant for possession of prescription pills, only that there was probable cause to arrest him for marijuana possession. Therefore, the police could not use the search incident to arrest exception to circumvent the protections that arose from appellant's arrest. Furthermore, exigency could not support the search once the police handcuffed and secured appellant. Finally, the court found the "plain feel" exception inapplicable because the object believed to be a prescription pill bottle did not make it "immediately apparent" that the bottle contained contraband. Accordingly, the court reversed denial of suppression and remanded for dismissal of the judgment of conviction.
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