The Presiding Magistrate in Downing Centre Local Court dismissed charges of ‘drug possession‘ against our 29 year old client after police searched his car illegally.
Our client was pulled over after he allegedly exceeded the speed limit and drove ‘recklessly’.
Police claimed that, when approached, he appeared ‘nervous’,’ fidgety’ and was ‘sweating profusely’.
Police then undertook a background check which showed that our client has a previous drug conviction.
His car was then searched and police found a plastic bag containing 58 grams of cannabis under the passenger seat.
The Magistrate accepted that our client’s nervousness was natural in the circumstances and that a previous drug conviction is not sufficient to justify a search.
The search was found to be illegal and the evidence of drugs was excluded.
The prosecution had no further evidence and the case was dismissed.