State v. Lark, 902 N.W.2d 739

On Sept. 6, 2016, officers stopped a Dodge Charger after an officer in an unmarked car observed it traveling the wrong way in a lane in Minot, ND.
During the stop officers observed in plain view what they believed to be crack cocaine and a rolled-up bill (snort tube) on the passenger side; Bambenek directed Lark to exit, handcuffed him, read Miranda, and officers searched him.
Search of Lark found two cell phones, about $8,400 cash, and a rolled-up dollar bill with a burn mark. Bambenek searched the vehicle and found a third phone, a letter with another person’s birth certificate, and other collectibles.
Field narcotics tests were inconclusive ~24 minutes into the stop; officers continued the vehicle search and ~51 minutes into the stop found Suboxone hidden in the headliner; Lark was arrested for possession with intent to deliver.
Lark moved to suppress; the district court granted the motion concluding probable cause ceased after the inconclusive field test. The State appealed and the Supreme Court reversed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Lark)	Held
Whether the warrantless search of the vehicle was justified under the automobile exception	The automobile exception applied because officers observed apparent crack cocaine and paraphernalia in plain view, creating probable cause to search the vehicle	The search exceeded Fourth Amendment limits, particularly after the field test was inconclusive	Search was lawful under the automobile exception — probable cause existed based on the totality of circumstances
Whether an inconclusive field drug test eliminated probable cause and required suppression of later-found evidence	The inconclusive field test did not negate probable cause when viewed with all other factors (cash, multiple phones, rolled bills, visible suspected drugs)	The inconclusive test undermined the officers’ probable cause and the continued search/length of detention was unlawful	The inconclusive test did not eliminate probable cause; the district court erred in treating it as dispositive

State v. Doohen, 2006 ND 239, 724 N.W.2d 158 (automobile exception and probable cause assessed under totality of circumstances)
State v. Gregg, 2000 ND 154, 615 N.W.2d 515 (automobile-exception search validated where contraband was observable in vehicle)
State v. Wacht, 2013 ND 126, 833 N.W.2d 455 (probable cause is assessed as the laminated total of information)
State v. Washington, 2007 ND 138, 737 N.W.2d 382 (officer’s subjective belief is irrelevant to objective probable-cause analysis)
State v. Roth, 2006 ND 106, 713 N.W.2d 513 (totality-of-circumstances test for probable cause)