A Federal appeals court in Illinois recently addressed a Fourth Amendment issue relating to a vehicle that was shipped from Arizona to Illinois in a car carrier truck. 

It appears that while driving through Missouri the truck driver stopped a state trooper and told him of his suspicion that the vehicle “smelled like spices” and that there were several air fresheners inside. As a result ,the state trooper searched the vehicle and found eight pounds of marijuana and two kilos of cocaine in a secret compartment in the back seat.  When the defendant sought to retrieve his vehicle in Illinois, he was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute.

The defendant’s Motion to Suppress was denied by the trial court and, as a result, he appealed that decision to the Seventh Circuit.  There the Court concluded that the Fourth Amendment could not apply in the case because there was no reasonable expectation of privacy. In reaching that result, the Court observed that the doors of the vehicle were unlocked; that the truck driver was given a set of keys; and, that the defendant knew that the driver could enter the vehicle and drove it off the truck.  The Court also concluded that even if Fourth Amendment did apply, the truck driver had the authority to consent to the search.