Greer v. Commonwealth, 514 S.W.3d 566

On Sept. 22, 2015, Lexington police were briefed to watch for Joshua Greer and his vehicle (description and plate given) due to suspected drug activity.
Officer Merker later saw Greer’s vehicle, could not identify the driver’s gender or features because of heavy window tint, called Officer Nichols, and was told to find a reason to stop the car.
Merker stopped the vehicle claiming an equipment violation for excessive window tint under KRS 189.110(4); his tint meter malfunctioned at the scene.
Upon approach Merker smelled raw marijuana; Greer admitted marijuana in the center console; search revealed marijuana and a loaded .40 handgun in the glove compartment.
Grand jury declined to indict for tinting; Greer was indicted for felon-in-possession, possession of marijuana, and driving in violation of permit; he moved to suppress evidence from the stop.
The Fayette Circuit Court denied suppression; Greer pleaded guilty conditionally, reserved appeal; the court affirmed denial and sentence on appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether initial traffic stop was justified	Greer: stop was pretextual; no substantial evidence tint violated KRS 189.110(4); grand jury refused tint charge	Commonwealth: officer had objective basis to stop for suspected equipment violation; officer’s subjective motive irrelevant	Court: stop justified — officer had reasonable suspicion based on training/observation despite pretext and grand jury disposition
Whether evidence from search should be suppressed	Greer: evidence flowed from unlawful stop and must be suppressed	Commonwealth: once odor of marijuana was detected, officer had probable cause to search vehicle and contents	Court: odor of marijuana gave probable cause; suppression properly denied

Jackson v. Commonwealth, 187 S.W.3d 300 (Ky. 2006) (standards of review for suppression rulings)
Welch v. Commonwealth, 149 S.W.3d 407 (Ky. 2004) (review standards cited)
Dunn v. Commonwealth, 199 S.W.3d 775 (Ky. Ct. App. 2006) (odor of marijuana establishes probable cause to search vehicle)
Wilson v. Commonwealth, 37 S.W.3d 745 (Ky. 2001) (officer may stop vehicle for traffic violation regardless of subjective motive)
Commonwealth v. Bucalo, 422 S.W.3d 253 (Ky. 2013) (citing Wilson on officer motive irrelevancy)
Chavies v. Commonwealth, 354 S.W.3d 103 (Ky. 2011) (Fourth Amendment standard and Terry-stop reasonable suspicion framework)
Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996) (subjective intent of officer irrelevant to validity of traffic stop)
Shank v. United States, 543 F.3d 309 (6th Cir. 2008) (officers’ familiarity with tinting can provide basis for stop)
Weaver v. Shadoan, 340 F.3d 398 (6th Cir. 2003) (similar principles on window tinting and stops)
Flores v. United States, 30 F.Supp.3d 599 (E.D. Ky. 2014) (probable cause to believe window tinting unlawful governs validity of stop)
Baril v. Commonwealth, 612 S.W.2d 739 (Ky. 1981) (disposition of arresting charge does not dictate outcome on major offense)
Malone v. Commonwealth, 30 S.W.3d 180 (Ky. 2000) (grand jury nonindictment does not preclude resubmission)