Oregon v. Kurokawa-Lasciak
Annotate this CaseThe state charged Defendant Tyler Kurokawa-Lasciak with various drug offenses, and Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence that the police had obtained from a warrantless search of his rental van. The state contended that no warrant was required under the automobile exception to Article I, section 9 of the Oregon Constitution or, alternatively, that Defendant's companion was in possession of the van and had given her consent to search. The trial court granted Defendant's motion to suppress and the state appealed. Defendant was detained in the parking lot of a casino. Officials there called police because Defendant had been disorderly earlier in the evening. The arresting officer told Defendant that he'd go to jail, but that he had another option: if Defendant consented to a search of his van, the officer might cite him at the casino and release him there. Defendant asked for a lawyer. The officer told Defendant he would impound the van and later obtain a search warrant. Further investigation would reveal that Defendant had given the keys to his girlfriend who was inside the casino. Officers found her inside and asked her whether they could search the van. She replied that she did not believe she had authority to permit the search. Eventually she acquiesced, and officers found 77 grams of marijuana, 56 grams of hashish, electronic scales, and approximately $48,000 in cash inside. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's ruling and held that the search was valid under the automobile exception. Upon review, the Supreme Court held that the automobile exception did not permit the warrantless search of Defendant's van. The Court remanded the case to the Court of Appeals to decide the issue that it did not reach -- whether the search was permitted by Defendant's companion's consent.
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