Murphy v. Com.

OPINION BY Justice BARBARA MILANO KEENAN.

In this appeal of a defendant's conviction for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, we consider whether Code § 18.2-262 affords transactional immunity to a witness whose testimony is voluntary, rather than compelled.

The facts in this case are not in dispute. In March 2005, Simon Vaughn Murphy stopped his vehicle at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel toll plaza in Northampton County. At the plaza, Virginia State Trooper C.L. Murphy (the trooper) smelled marijuana in the vehicle and ordered Murphy to "pull over."

Upon conducting a search…