State of West Virginia v. Candice Brown, 16-0154

In April 2015 petitioner Candice Brown was a passenger in a car driven by co-defendant Latizhon Hill; Officer Boggess observed a white light from the rear and stopped the vehicle for a suspected defective lamp.
Officer Boggess noticed small empty plastic bags on the center console, Hill appeared nervous, and Hill refused a vehicle search; a license check revealed Hill’s license was suspended and she had prior drug charges.
About six minutes into the stop the officer called for a police canine; Brown exited the vehicle and was found to also have a suspended license and prior drug charges.
Approximately 25 minutes after the stop began a canine alerted to drugs; a search produced over 500 grams of heroin in the trunk; both women were arrested and the car towed.
Brown moved to suppress the evidence; at the suppression hearing Hill’s father testified that the brake light lens was intact but admitted the turn-signal lens had a golf-ball-sized hole. The circuit court denied suppression.
Brown pled guilty to conspiracy with reserved right to appeal the suppression ruling and was sentenced to 1–5 years; she appealed, arguing unlawful stop, unlawful prolongation for a dog sniff, and erroneous exclusion of photos.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Standing to challenge search	Brown: as an occupant she can seek suppression of vehicle search	State: Brown had no possessory/legitimate privacy interest in vehicle or trunk	No standing; passenger lacked possessory interest, so no Fourth Amendment invasion
Lawfulness of initial stop	Brown: officer was wrong about a broken taillight so no reasonable suspicion/probable cause	State: officer observed white rear light and there was in fact a broken turn-signal lens violating equipment statutes	Stop lawful — officer’s mistake was of fact (wrong lens), but both defects violate WV lighting statutes, so articulable suspicion existed
Prolongation of stop for canine sniff	Brown: officer prolonged completed stop without reasonable suspicion to wait for dog	State: stop was ongoing (licenses suspended; citation in progress) so no unlawful extension	No unlawful extension — stop was not completed when canine arrived, so no separate reasonable-suspicion requirement to continue
Exclusion of post-arrest photographs	Brown: photos showing intact brake-light lens would undermine officer’s justification	State: photos irrelevant because turn-signal lens was broken and that alone justified the stop	Exclusion affirmed — photographs were immaterial given admitted broken turn-signal lens;

State v. Head, 198 W.Va. 298, 480 S.E.2d 507 (W. Va. 1996) (three-pronged standard of review for circuit court findings)
State v. Lacy, 196 W.Va. 104, 468 S.E.2d 719 (W. Va. 1996) (deference to suppression hearing factual findings; legal questions reviewed de novo)
State v. Tadder, 173 W.Va. 187, 313 S.E.2d 667 (W. Va. 1984) (passenger lacks possessory interest in vehicle for Fourth Amendment challenge)
State v. Dunbar, 229 W.Va. 293, 728 S.E.2d 539 (W. Va. 2012) (distinguishing officer mistakes of law from mistakes of fact in traffic-stop context)
Strick v. Cicchirillo, 224 W.Va. 240, 683 S.E.2d 575 (W. Va. 2009) (unsafe or improperly equipped lamps can establish a misdemeanor equipment violation)
Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405 (U.S. 2005) (dog sniff during lawful traffic stop does not violate Fourth Amendment)