Opinion

Commonwealth v. Griffith

  • 2009 Pa. Super. 120
  • 985 A.2d 230
  • 2009 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2201
  • 2009 WL 1887535
Court
Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Filed
Jul 2, 2009
Status
Published
Author
Lally-Green
On the bench
Lally-Green, Bender, McEwen
Cited by
9 cases
Authority
More cited than 5.1%

Reversed by Commonwealth v. Griffith, 613 Pa. 171 (2011)

The opinion

DISSENTING STATEMENT BY

LALLY-GREEN, J.:

¶ 1 While the majority sets forth a persuasive rationale in support of its result, I respectfully dissent.

¶2 I believe the Commonwealth presented sufficient evidence in support of Appellant’s conviction under 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3802(d)(2). As the trial court found, Appellant exhibited erratic driving prior to the traffic stop. She admitted to police that she ingested controlled substances. After police stopped her, Appellant’s hands were too shaky to light a cigarette and she failed three field sobriety tests. I believe the evidence of record is sufficient to support a finding, beyond reasonable doubt, that Appellant violated § 3802.

¶ 3 Further, I would not announce a rule requiring the submission of expert testimony. Here, the record hints of no explanation for Appellant’s conduct other than her ingestion of drugs. Our case law is clear that expert testimony is not a necessary part of proof of a violation under § 3802(d)(2) in all cases.

¶ 4 Moreover, I would reject Appellant’s argument that the seizure of several prescription pill bottles was not warranted under the plain view doctrine. Appellant asked a police officer to enter her car to care for her dog. Upon entering Appellant’s vehicle, the officer observed, in plain view, several open pill bottles in the center console of Appellant’s car. The officer immediately recognized them as containing controlled substances. The officer knew, at the time of the seizure of the open pill bottles, that Appellant had admitted to ingesting controlled substances prior to driving. Under these circumstances, the officer had probable cause to believe that *238 the pill bottles were evidence of Appellant’s commission of a crime. Thus, he was justified in seizing them under the plain view doctrine. Commonwealth v. Ellis, 541 Pa. 285 , 662 A.2d 1048 (1995). 1

¶ 5 Since I believe that none of Appellant’s arguments warrants relief, I would affirm the judgment of sentence. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.

. Appellant also argues that the blood test should be suppressed because it came about only as a result of the illegal seizure of the pill bottles. Since I believe the seizure of the pill bottles was proper, I would conclude that this argument lacks merit.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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