State v. Smith
Annotate this CaseThe State charged Brandon Smith with gross misdemeanor possession of a pistol without a permit and misdemeanor illegal transportation of a firearm. The charges resulted from Smith's possession of a pistol retrieved from his car by two state troopers during an otherwise lawful traffic stop. The district court convicted Smith of both charged offenses and sentenced him. The court of appeals vacated the misdemeanor sentence for illegal transportation of a firearm but affirmed the gross misdemeanor sentence of possession of a pistol without a permit. At issue on appeal was whether the district court erred by denying Smith's motion to exclude the pistol from evidence. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the troopers did not unlawfully expand the scope of the traffic stop without reasonable, articulable suspicion of illegal activity, and therefore, the district court did not err when it admitted the pistol into evidence.
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