Newsletter NJ Laws by Kenneth Vercammen, Esq.: E679 VercammenLaw News

E679 VercammenLaw News

1. End of Summer Bash at the Edison Elks

2. Police dog sniff rejected here State v. Smart

3. Detention of driver after initial stop on MDT not unconstitutionally prolonged State v Williams

4. September Free Outdoor Music

1. End of Summer Bash at the Edison Elks

Saturday / September 9 2023

Time: 1PM – 6:30 PM

Where: Edison Elks Pool and Grove

Cost: $20PP for Members and Guests and friends of Ken Vercammen

Food:

Hamburgers

Hotdogs

Salads

Corn on the Cob

Watermelon

Desserts

Water/Soft drinks:

*Beverages available for purchase

*Pool is open!

Food/Dessert Donations Welcome

4:00 pm- Cannon ball contest

6:00 pm- Super 50/50 drawing

5:59 pm- Elks recognize 911 memorial by singing God Bless America

Address:

Edison Elks 2487

375 Old Post Road

Edison NJ 08817-4653

(732) 985-2487

*Since Bar Anticipation is not having formal Happy Hour events, Ken V will have this as the Annual Summer Blast and inviting friends to attend.

https://www.facebook.com/events/759063709319245

Recent Cases:

2. Police dog sniff rejected here State v. Smart

The circumstances giving rise to probable cause in this case were not “unforeseeable and spontaneous.” Those circumstances included investigating previous information from the CI and concerned citizen about defendant, the vehicle, and narcotics trafficking in the area; lengthy surveillance of defendant and the vehicle; reasonable and articulable suspicion that defendant had engaged in a drug deal; and a positive canine sniff of the vehicle. The Court therefore affirms the order suppressing the physical evidence seized from the vehicle. A-6-22

3. Detention of driver after initial stop on MDT not unconstitutionally prolonged State v Williams

An MDT query revealing that a vehicle’s owner has a suspended New Jersey driver’s license provides constitutionally valid reasonable suspicion authorizing the officer to stop the vehicle -- unless the officer pursuing the vehicle has a sufficient objective basis to believe that the driver does not resemble the owner. If, upon stopping the vehicle, it becomes reasonably apparent to the officer that the driver does not look like the owner whose license is suspended, the officer must cease the vehicle’s detention and communicate that the motorist is free to drive away without further delay.

Based on the specific facts presented here, the initial stop of the vehicle was valid because it was based on reasonable suspicion. However, the detention of defendants and the borrowed car was unconstitutionally prolonged after the officer recognized the driver was not the car’s owner. The officer’s admittedly uncertain ability to tell if he smelled marijuana was inadequate evidence of “plain smell” to justify a continuation of the stop and a search of the vehicle. A-4/5-22