Overview
- In a 7-0 decision in Sellers v. Superior Court, the court reversed lower courts and dismissed charges against passenger Davonyae Sellers.
- Justices held that crumbs or seeds are not readily consumable, likening loose cannabis on a floorboard to spilled beer rather than a ready-to-use product.
- The opinion set a standard that marijuana must be of a usable quantity, in imminently usable condition, and readily accessible to violate the open-container law.
- The court found officers lacked probable cause to search the car in the 2021 Sacramento stop that turned up about 0.36 grams of loose debris on the rear floor and a rolling tray.
- Civil liberties advocates praised the decision for curbing pretextual searches tied to lawful possession, and the local district attorney’s office gave no immediate comment.