California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Cruz, E061411 (Cal. App. 2015):
is in the plain view where an officer has a right to be, there can be no "search in the constitutional sense." (People v. Camacho (2000) 23 Cal.4th 824, 831-832.) Here, the officer was in a position where she had a right to be when she experienced the "plain smell" of marijuana in the open air between the two vehicles as they passed. Because there was no infringement on defendant's liberty interests at the point where the officer came into possession of facts justifying the stop, the traffic stop and detention of the driver were lawful.
C) Detention of Passengers
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