PEOPLE OF MI V JAMES EARL JEWELL
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
March 2, 2004
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 244026
Isabella Circuit Court
LC No. 02-000554-FH
JAMES EARL JEWELL,
Defendant-Appellee.
Before: Schuette, P.J., and Meter and Owens, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Plaintiff appeals as of right the order granting defendant’s motion to suppress and
dismissing charges. We reverse. This appeal is being decided without oral argument pursuant to
MCR 7.214(E).
I. FACTS
Defendant was a passenger in an automobile stopped after the driver weaved in and out
of her lane. The officer asked defendant to step out of the car; he then asked defendant if he had
any weapons. Defendant told the officer he had a knife in his pocket and while the officer was
retrieving the knife from defendant’s pocket, he discovered a marijuana pipe in the same pocket.
The officer asked defendant where the rest of the marijuana was and defendant told him it was in
his shirt pocket. The officer reached in to defendant’s shirt pocket and retrieved the marijuana.
The circuit court granted defendant’s motion to suppress, finding that the search was improper.
The question presented in this case is whether the officer had the authority to order defendant out
of the car under the circumstances of this case. We find that he did.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
This Court’s review of a lower court’s factual findings in a suppression hearing is limited
to clear error and those findings will be affirmed unless this Court is left with a definite and firm
conviction that a mistake was made. People v Davis, 250 Mich App 357, 362; 649 NW2d 94
(2002). We review de novo the lower court’s ultimate ruling on the motion to suppress. Id.
-1-
III. ANALYSIS
During a routine traffic stop, a police officer may request a driver to step out of the
vehicle. Pennsylvania v Mimms, 434 US 106; 98 S Ct 330; 54 L Ed 2d 331 (1977). The same
provisions that apply to drivers also apply to passengers. Maryland v Wilson, 519 US 408, 414;
117 S Ct 882; 137 L Ed 2d 41 (1997); People v Martinez, 187 Mich App 160, 167; 466 NW2d
380 (1991), remanded on other grounds, 439 Mich 986 (1992).
Here, the officer ordered the passenger out of the car, which was a permissible act for the
purpose of insuring the officer’s safety. Wilson, supra, 413-414. The officer testified that he had
not decided whether to issue a citation at the time he ordered defendant out of the car. Detaining
the occupants of a motor vehicle while awaiting the results of a LEIN check is a minimal
invasion in light of the substantial state interests involved. Davis, supra, 367-368. The circuit
court erred in granting the motion to suppress.
Reversed.
/s/ Bill Schuette
/s/ Patrick M. Meter
/s/ Donald S. Owens
-2-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
