Meredith

Carlton Clifford Meredith appeals from his conviction after a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of possession of cocaine base for sale. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11351.5; count 1.) Meredith pled guilty to one count of a two-count information after the trial court denied his motion under Penal Code section 1538.5 to suppress the evidence against him. He was sentenced to the low term of 3 years in state prison for the offense.

Meredith was initially charged in the United States District Court with possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute ( 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(2)). That charge was dismissed after the district court ruled that the evidence against Meredith had been obtained in violation of Meredith’s rights under the Fourth Amendment.

When Meredith was subsequently charged with state offenses in the superior court, he moved under Penal Code section 1538.5 to suppress the evidence against him. He argued first, that the suppression of the evidence and subsequent dismissal of the action in federal court operated to bar introduction of the evidence in state court, and second, that the evidence was obtained in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. The trial…