Maryland v. Pringle
United States Supreme Court
540 U.S. 366 (2003)
After a traffic stop, an officer found a roll of cash in the glove compartment and cocaine tucked behind the back-seat armrest of a car carrying three men — the owner-driver, Pringle (defendant) in the front passenger seat, and a third man in back. When all three denied knowledge of the drugs and money, the officer arrested everyone; Pringle later waived his rights and confessed the drugs were his. Pringle's motion to suppress his confession as fruit of an unlawful arrest was denied at trial, and he was convicted; Maryland's intermediate court affirmed, but a divided Maryland Court of Appeals reversed, holding the drugs alone didn't establish probable cause specifically against Pringle. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether the presence of drugs in a car gives rise to probable cause to arrest any occupant of the car who had knowledge about the drugs and exercised dominion and control over them.