State v. Hicks, 2016 Ohio 5439

On Nov. 13, 2014, Trooper Coverstone observed a southbound Ford Expedition on I-75 and paced it at 69–70 mph in a 65-mph zone after initially estimating ~71 mph in a 70 zone. He also observed the vehicle merge closely between cars.
Coverstone stopped the vehicle, removed Hicks to the rear for safety, and noticed watery eyes and nervous behavior; Hicks said the car was a rental driven for his wife.
Hicks rolled down the passenger window while retrieving the rental agreement; Coverstone immediately detected a strong odor of raw marijuana coming from the vehicle.
A pat-down revealed marijuana butter on Hicks; a search of the vehicle revealed a small bag of marijuana, a blunt, an ecstasy pill, and later >300 oxycodone pills hidden in the rear quarter panel after the vehicle was towed.
Hicks moved to suppress all evidence, arguing the stop lacked reasonable/articulable suspicion and was pretextual and that the stop was improperly extended; the trial court denied the motion and Hicks pled no contest to two counts of aggravated possession, receiving an aggregate three-year sentence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the initial traffic stop was supported by reasonable, articulable suspicion/probable cause	State: Trooper observed speeding and unsafe following/encroachment, providing a lawful basis for the stop	Hicks: Trooper lacked sufficient basis; stop was pretextual and therefore unconstitutional	Court: Stop justified—trooper observed speeding (69–70 in 65) and unsafe merging/too-close following; lawful to stop vehicle
Whether the detention was unlawfully extended or exceeded permissible scope	State: Odor of raw marijuana was detected within minutes, giving probable cause to search and justify tow/search	Hicks: Even if stop began lawfully, detention/search/vehicle tow and later discovery exceeded permissible scope/length	Court: Odor was detected <2 minutes after stop, producing probable cause; scope and duration were reasonable and did not violate the Fourth Amendment

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) (officers may briefly stop/detain on reasonable, articulable suspicion)
State v. Mays, 894 N.E.2d 1204 (Ohio 2008) (traffic violations justify stops even if pretextual to investigate other crimes)
Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119 (2000) (reasonable suspicion is a less demanding standard than probable cause)
State v. Andrews, 565 N.E.2d 1271 (Ohio 1991) (totality-of-circumstances test and perspective of reasonable officer for assessing suspicion)