Court reins in police searches

April 18, 2008 | Virginia News

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- A divided Virginia Supreme Court has issued two decisions reining in police searches.

The court split 4-3 in Friday's opinions, which reversed a pair of drug convictions.

In one case, the justices ruled that a Henrico County police officer lacked probable cause to search a vehicle after observing what appeared to be hand-rolled cigarettes in the interior door handle. According to the court, that alone was not enough to establish a reasonable suspicion of marijuana possession.

The second case involved a pat-down search during a traffic stop in a high-crime area of Danville. The court said the character of the neighborhood was an insufficient basis for frisking a man without his consent.