The Legality of Automobile Searches
I've had several friends ask me about the ability of police to search their automobile when they get pulled over, no doubt worried about the cases of moonshine they keep stashed in the trunk or just curious about the extent of their constitutional rights. Confusion in this area of law is rampant, and for good reason. Automobile search law is a mess. The Utah Supreme Court basically admits it in this case from 1990, saying "the fourth amendment, especially in the context of automobile searches, has been the source of much confusion among judges, lawyers, and police."
The Metaphysics of Utah’s Drug Paraphernalia Act
The Buddhists sometimes say that "the universe exists in a grain of sand" when explaining the concept of interdependence among all things. It seems the Utah legislature was strikingly Buddhist when drafting the Utah Drug Paraphernalia Act, because the way they defined "paraphernalia" makes paraphernalia exist in all things, too.
Under Utah Statute 58-37a-3, drug paraphernalia means "any equipment, product, or material used, or intended for use, to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, package, repackage, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or to otherwise introduce a controlled substance into the human body." Damn.
Simple Possession | Marijuana Charges on Federal Land
Possessing less than an ounce of Marijuana, for instance, is not exactly the crime of the century. In some of our more progressive states, it isn't even a crime. But if a federal agent (National Park Ranger, Forest Service Law Enforcement, etc.) catches you with any amount of marijuana on federal land, it does indeed become "a federal case." You are charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office under federal law (see 21 U.S.C. § 844), and the case goes to the nearest federal court.
Utah's Dubious Distinction: The Most Federal Pot Convictions
According to an article published his summer in the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah leads the nation in convictions for federal cases of "simple possession." Basically, this is the federal crime you get charged with if you're found with a personal amount of weed on any federal land: national parks, national forests, national monuments, and BLM land.
Utah's "Drug Free" Zones
Utah lawmakers have a proud tradition of writing their drug laws with an 8-inch paint-brush. Utah's Paraphernalia Act, for instance, is so broad that it would probably be easier to define what isn't illegal. (read more about it here). Similarly, Utah's "Drug Free" Zones cover so much territory that they would be better off trying to identify the small areas in the state that aren't "drug free."
So what is a drug-free zone in Utah? Well, according to Utah Code 58-37-8:
Tooele Highway Drug Stops
Tooele County, Utah is a large, rural county 30 minutes west of Salt Lake City, with a couple small towns (Grantsville, Tooele), some mountains, salt flats, and one large, busy, east-west Highway (I-80).
Like many places around the state and country, the local law enforcement folks in Tooele have formed a "Multi-Agency Drug Enforcement Task Force," with the expressed purpose of "investigating and prosecuting the illegal importation, manufacture, use, possession, dispensation, prescription, delivery...." you get the point.
Summit County Marijuana Arrests
So after the traveler gets caught with some weed, they often get arrested and carted off to Summit County Jail, leaving their car along the highway for the tow-truck guys to come get. One tow-truck driver told a client of mine that he had personally hauled 7 cars off the highway that evening, all of which were the cars of arrested drivers.
Richfield Marijuana Arrests: The most exciting part of driving I-70
The drive along Interstate 70, in central Utah, is remarkable for its unremarkableness. Just to the north, there are strikingly beautiful salt flats and the abrupt, snow-capped peaks of the Wasatch front. Just to the south are the red-rock deserts and world-famous national parks: Zion, Arches, Canyonlands. But I-70 threads the needle, and doesn't pass a single interesting site in a state full of them. It starts with bleak, rolling pinon hills at the I-15 junction, and ends with bleak, rolling clay hills at the Colorado border.
Drug Dogs and Police Searches in Utah
Can Police Have a Dog Sniff My Car Without My Permission?
Unfortunately, yes they can. The Supreme Court has held that a drug dog "sniff" is not a search, basically because they're not invading your privacy (unless the dog "alerts" and they do a search). However, there are some important limitations. You can't be detained against your will on the side of the road for a drug dog to sniff your car. It has to be done while you're being held for another legal reason. So if you're pulled over speeding, and one cop is getting your license and registration, and typing it into the computer, and getting a background check, and another cop is walking around your car with Ajax the drug dog at the same time, that's probably legal.
Carbon County Utah Marijuana Charges
Carbon County, Utah has no freeways, but it does have beautiful, windy Highway 6, the main route from Salt Lake City and points west to Denver and points east. Consequently, it gets a lot of traffic for a small, rural, county in the Utah desert.
Your California Medical Marijuana Card in Utah
Probably once a week, I get asked if a California Medical Marijuana Card makes any difference in Utah. Up until last year, I had to say no. Fortunately, Utah's new Medical Cannabis Act does contain some reciprocity for med cards from out of state, but there are some important caveats to keep in mind:
Utah Legalizes Medical Marijuana! Kinda! Sort Of!
UPDATE: the Utah Legislature passed, and the governor signed, a “compromise bill” that overwrites most of Proposition 2. More information and a new post will be forthcoming.