State v. Forrester

TOAL, Chief Justice:

A jury convicted petitioner Burnella Forrester (“Forrester”) of trafficking in crack cocaine. She appealed the trial court’s admission into evidence of the crack cocaine seized from her purse. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction. We granted certiorari to review the decision of the Court of Appeals. We reverse.

Factual/Procedural Background

At the time of Forrester’s arrest, Allen Rhodes was a member of the Florence County Police Department’s drug and weapon interdiction team. Part of his job entailed supervising the local train station and intercepting suspicious…