Maryland v. Joseph Jermaine Pringle (540 U.S. 366)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided December 15, 2003 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 540 U.S. 366 · 124 S. Ct. 795
- Decided
- December 15, 2003
- Term
- October Term 2003
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. In the early morning hours a passenger car occupied by three men was stopped for speeding by a police officer. The officer, upon searching the ear, seized $763 of rolled-up cash from the glove compartment and five glassine baggies of cocaine from between the back-seat armrest and the back seat. After all three men denied ownership of the cocaine and money, the officer arrested each of them. We hold that the officer had probable cause to arrest Pringle — one of the three men. At 3:16 a.m. on August 7,1999, a Baltimore County Police officer stopped a Nissan Maxima for speeding. There were three occupants in the car: Donte Partlow, the driver and owner, respondent Pringle, the front-seat passenger, and Otis Smith, the back-seat passenger. The officer asked Partlow for his license and registration. When Partlow opened the glove compartment to retrieve the vehicle registration, the officer observed a large amount of rolled-up money in the glove compartment. The officer returned to his patrol car with Partlow’s license and registration to check the computer system for outstanding violations. The computer check did not reveal any violations. The officer returned to the stopped car, had Partlow get out, and issued him an oral warning. After a second patrol car arrived, the officer asked Partlow if he had any weapons or…
Excerpt of a 13,322-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.