State v. Hernandez

Chief Justice TOAL:

Petitioners Raphael Hernandez, Honorio Guerrero, and Alfredo Avila-Arjona were convicted of trafficking marijuana and sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed Petitioners’ convictions and sentences. State v. Hernandez, Op. No.2007-UP-183 (S.C. Ct.App. filed April 18, 2007). We granted a writ of certiorari to review that decision and now reverse.

Factual/Procedural Background

At a border crossing in Laredo, Texas, federal officials stopped and searched an eighteen-wheeler tractor-trailer (“tractor-trailer”) entering the United States from…