State v. Bolme, 952 N.W.2d 75

Officer conducting stationary radar observed a sunlight glint off a "spider web" crack on the passenger side of Bolme’s windshield and initiated a traffic stop believing the crack obstructed the driver’s view.
No other traffic violations were observed before the stop.
On approach the officer detected the odor of raw marijuana from the vehicle; Bolme denied possessing marijuana and said he did not know why the car smelled that way.
The officer searched the vehicle based on the odor and seized methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia; Bolme was arrested and charged with two class C felonies.
Bolme moved to suppress the evidence; the district court denied the motion after reviewing testimony, photos, and video. He entered a conditional guilty plea and appealed the suppression ruling.
The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed: the stop was supported by reasonable suspicion and the warrantless search was supported by probable cause based on the marijuana odor.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of the traffic stop (reasonable suspicion)	State: officer reasonably suspected a view-obstructing windshield crack in violation of N.D.C.C. § 39-21-39(1) and thus had grounds to stop the vehicle	Bolme: a crack is not a “nontransparent material” under § 39-21-39(1); a small passenger-side crack would not reasonably be seen as obstructing the driver’s view	Held: Stop justified. Even though a crack is not a violation of § 39-21-39(1), the officer’s belief that the crack obstructed view and violated the law was an objectively reasonable, articulable suspicion sufficient for the stop (deferential review of fact findings)
Validity of the vehicle search (probable cause)	State: odor of raw marijuana from the vehicle provided probable cause under the automobile exception to search without a warrant	Bolme: post-2019 legislative change reduced penalty for small-quantity marijuana to an infraction, so odor alone no longer establishes probable cause	Held: Search justified. Possession of under one-half ounce remained a criminal infraction; North Dakota precedent holds a trained officer’s detection of marijuana odor establishes probable cause to search a vehicle

State v. Schmalz, 744 N.W.2d 734 (N.D. 2008) (trained officer’s detection of marijuana odor establishes probable cause)
State v. Binns, 194 N.W.2d 756 (N.D. 1972) (odor of marijuana supports probable cause)
State v. Overby, 590 N.W.2d 703 (N.D. 1999) (odor of marijuana sufficient for probable cause)
State v. Hirschkorn, 881 N.W.2d 244 (N.D. 2016) (an objectively reasonable mistake of law or fact can supply reasonable suspicion for a stop)
Kappel v. Dir., N.D. Dep’t of Transp., 602 N.W.2d 718 (N.D. 1999) (reasonable suspicion need not rule out innocent explanations)
State v. Bornsen, 920 N.W.2d 314 (N.D. 2018) (reasonable-suspicion inquiry is fact-specific and assessed under an objective standard)