GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Darrielle Williams was in his prison cell in Okeechobee, Florida, unaware that a state appeals court had ruled in his case that law enforcement officers can no longer justify searching a vehicle without permission because they say they smell the odor of marijuana.
The consequential decision in one of the most populous parts of the state threatens roadside drug enforcement and expands constitutional rights against unreasonable searches. It is so significant that the appeals judges urged the Florida Supreme Court to decide separately whether they got it right.
The case will have sweeping implications.
“The smell of marijuana is probably the most common tool that law enforcement uses to search,” said Richard Hornsby, a criminal defense lawyer in Orlando. “It really comes down to, law enforcement is going to have to be more vigilant to uphold the lawful basis for their searches.”
Judges for the 2nd District Court of Appeals in Tampa ruled 13-1 last week that a police officer, sheriff’s deputy or state trooper who smells marijuana can’t justify searching a vehicle because of the odor alone. Phrases from police like, “I smelled the overwhelming odor of burnt cannabis,” are included in tens of thousands of court records documenting roadside searches and drug arrests.
“The smell of cannabis standing alone is insufficient to establish probable cause,” the judges ruled. They noted that judges for the 5th District Court of Appeals in Daytona Beach, whose jurisdiction covers northeast Florida, reached the same conclusion in an unrelated case last year.
Meanwhile, Williams said in an interview from prison that he wasn’t even aware he won his case until a reporter told him. He responded to messages from Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.
“I didn’t even get a response yet on my case,” Williams said. “Nobody has reached out to me, my lawyer, nobody.”
While the court ruling doesn’t guarantee his freedom, he said the verdict has offered him a “little bit of life and hope” he needs.
“I hope this decision for my case allows me to get another shot in court where I can return home to my family,” he added, treating the appeal as another chance.
Williams, 35, was sentenced in 2009 to 15 years in prison on attempted murder, assault and gun charges. Authorities said he shot a man in the chest with a pistol after stealing his bicycle. Out of prison on probation in 2023, Williams was a passenger in a car that police said failed to stop leaving a private lot.
The police officers on the scene said they smelled marijuana – but couldn’t agree whether it was burnt or fresh – and ordered Williams and the driver out of the car. Police said they found bags containing marijuana and oxycodone pills inside the glove compartment. They said they found the drug commonly known as Ecstasy in Williams’ sock.
Williams told the judge in court that he used the drug in prison, creating an addiction cycle after his release: “The drugs that we use in prison come back out on the streets and we use them again,” he said.
Williams pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 more years, but he challenged the search as a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches. His public defender said hemp and medical marijuana – which are now both legal in Florida – have the same odor as marijuana that would otherwise be illegal.
“Because these substances cannot be differentiated by odor alone, odor can no longer provide reasonable suspicion of criminality or probable cause to search a person or vehicle,” public defender Paige Tucker wrote. The trial judge, Michael S. Williams, denied the motion, but the appeals court judges overruled him last week.
Williams was expected to be released in January 2032, according to prison records. The appeals decision throws that into question. In his interview, Williams said he was still waiting to hear directly from his lawyers.
The appeals court said in its ruling that police who searched the car were operating in good faith under the law at the time and won’t reverse Williams’ conviction. “Law enforcement was acting in objectively reasonable reliance on binding appellate precedent,” the court said.
The court found the trial judge mistakenly ruled that Williams admitted to violating his probation when he didn’t. The case was sent back for the judge to correct that. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that would affect his current 10-year sentence for the probation violation.
Cruz Alexander Borges, 30, was stopped for speeding 105 mph in Clearwater in August 2024, according to court records. A Florida Highway Patrol trooper said he smelled marijuana in the car and, after searching, found two bags of marijuana. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana charge and was jailed for two days.
“Some are really strict,” Borges said. “I’ve had officers catch me with marijuana and make me throw it out and let me go.”
Borges was arrested again in April in his BMW for what police described as driving recklessly in downtown St. Petersburg. Police said they found over one pound of marijuana in his car and said his license had been suspended. He also served two days in jail in that case.
Borges believes the new legal standard is a good development.
“Now that drug laws are getting a little more lax, weed is everywhere,” he said. He recalled previous incidents where cops stopped him for smelling marijuana but found none.
District Judge Craig Villanti disagreed with his colleagues in the ruling, arguing that Williams violated the terms of his parole. Villanti said officers who smell marijuana can investigate further to determine whether its possession may be legal or illegal, and the reasonable privacy that drivers expect in their cars is balanced against the threat of other drivers who may be under the influence.
“If the individual claiming to legally possess the marijuana is not engaging in criminal activity, there should be no problem with the officer's investigation,” the judge wrote.
The appeals ruling doesn’t affect police searching a car when they see something incriminating, such as marijuana residue or drug paraphernalia, such as pipes or scales. It said the odor of marijuana can be one factor police can consider with other evidence.
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This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at deliasauer@freshtakeflorida.com. You can donate to support our students here.