Commonwealth v. M.J.

Police pulled over M.J. in a car he was driving for a defective brake light. During the traffic stop, the officer claimed that he observed a cigarette in plain view that he knew was dipped in codeine syrup. M.J. allegedly handed the cigarette over to the police and then voluntarily handed over a whole jar of the syrup. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence and drug charge statements, claiming that the police officers did not have probable cause, and that their version of events was not credible. At the motion, the defense locked in the first officer to several important facts, and then called the second officer to the stand to contradict his own partner. The two officers couldn’t even agree on whether there was a passenger in the car at the time of the stop. A judge sided with the defense and suppressed all evidence.