P. v. Plowright CA1/2
Police make a valid traffic stop, in daytime, which leads to a valid decision to impound the vehicle because the driver’s license and vehicle registration are expired, and the driver is unable to furnish proof of insurance. The driver of the vehicle accepts the offer to be driven to the nearest town in a police cruiser. The driver asks for a sealed cardboard box from his vehicle to take with him on the trip. The box is large; one of the officers described it as “two foot by three foot.” After the tow truck arrives, the driver is seated in a nearby police cruiser, without the box. The driver is not under any physical restraint. At this point the officers discover—in the impounded vehicle—a forged driver’s license with the driver’s photograph but a different name (“Todd Planters”). The sealed box is promptly cut open and discovered to contain a large quantity of marijuana and methadone pills. The stated reason for opening the box was to “check for weapons or t
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