Gregg

This case presents the question of whether an officer’s lawful observation of a few seeds of marijuana in the front seat of an automobile, coupled with the smell of freshly burned marijuana, furnished probable cause to search the trunk of the automobile. We hold that it does not.

On March 9, 1973, California Highway Patrol Officers Hughes and Wallace observed a vehicle with two occupants, neither of whom was appellant, speeding west bound on Highway 120 in Stanislaus County. The officers clocked the vehicle at 73 miles per hour. They followed the vehicle as it turned right onto Valley Home Road, then left onto Minnesota Street and then left onto Michigan. The vehicle was then traveling “real slow” and for at least a half mile the officers had the red lights on and a white spotlight was trained on the vehicle. The two occupants were observed “bending over in the seat and moving about.” The officers also observed the passenger on the right side bend down and it appeared that he may have been exchanging articles with the driver while the driver was twisting about.

When the vehicle stopped, the driver immediately exited the vehicle and came back to Officer Hughes. Officer…