Howell v. State

Our decision today to reverse the conviction * 1 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County of Paul Monroe Howell, petitioner, for possession of marihuana (Maryland Code (1957, 1971 Repl. Vol.), Art. 27, § 287) discovered by the police in a warrantless search of his automobile conducted incident to his lawful arrest turns on the fact that the record, in certain critical parts, is replete with the “sounds of silence.” We conclude that the State has failed to satisfy its burden of demonstrating on the record that the facts and circumstances of the incident bring this search within the dictates…