LA5: Car is exigency per se for search with probable cause

A car is exigent circumstances per se for dispensing with a search warrant. Here, officers had probable cause from hand-to-hand buys from the car, and that gave the basis for the search without a warrant. State v. Jones, 33 So. 3d 306 (La. App. 5th Cir. 2010).*

Officers reasonably believed that the landlord had apparent authority to consent to an entry of the deceased’s house after he was found dead in the yard. The other known occupant was in jail, so it was reasonable to believe that control ceded back to the landlord. State v. Knight, 34 So. 3d 307 (La. App. 5th Cir. 2010).*

An officer working off duty at a shopping mall got a tip about the smell of marijuana in the parking garage. He followed up and encountered the smell himself and traced it to a car. That was reasonable suspicion. The anonymous tip was corroborated. State v. Tate, 33 So. 3d 292 (La. App. 5th Cir. 2010).*

In a state forfeiture action, the state must show probable cause to believe that the object is subject to forfeiture. Commonwealth v. One 2004 Audi Sedan Auto., 456 Mass. 34, 921 N.E.2d 85 (2010).*