As Antonio was returning to work after his lunch break, he may have speeded a bit and he may have not stopped at a stop sign. But, did that give the police the right to not only arrest and take him into custody but to also search the car he was driving? Antonio had parked his car, gotten out and was heading to work when an officer stopped and questioned him. Not content with giving Antonio tickets for speeding and failure to stop at a stop sign, the officer claimed he smelled marijuana in the car. Sound familiar? The little twist, the officer claimed he couldn’t tell if it was fresh or burned. In the glove compartment, the officer found a gun. Antonio, who was talking to his girlfriend during the encounter, told the police it was his girlfriend’s car and he knew nothing about the gun. The girlfriend confirmed to the police that the gun was hers and that she had a license for the gun and a license to keep it in the car. She admitted she forgot it was in the car, and affirmed that Antonio knew nothing about it. Nonetheless, the police arrested Antonio. On the eve of trial, a new prosecutor finally reviewed the evidence and dismissed the case.
Antonio sued and after months of discovery and depositions, we settled the case and at least Antonio got some compensation for the false arrest and time he was in custody.