context: In many instances, as here, an officer may reasonably conclude, in light of the totality of the circumstances, that illegal drugs discovered in a vehicle in close proximity to a defendant in the vehicle are jointly or constructively possessed by that defendant and the other vehicle occupants.
citation_a.signal: see
citation_a.identifier: 204 F.3d 1282, 1292
citation_a.parenthetical: concluding that the government established "the necessary nexus" between the driver of the jointly occupied vehicle and the narcotics and, more specifically, noting that "[t]he observance of drugs in plain view is a compelling circumstance from which knowledge may be inferred"
citation_a.sentence: See Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366, 372, 124 S.Ct. 795, 157 L.Ed.2d 769 (2003) (concluding that there was probable cause to arrest a defendant where, notably, there were “[f]ive plastic glassine baggies of cocaine ... behind the back-seat armrest ... accessible to all three men” riding in the vehicle and “[u]pon questioning, the three men failed to offer any information with respect to the ownei’ship of the cocaine”); United, States v. McKissick, 204 F.3d 1282, 1292 (10th Cir.2000) (concluding that the government established “the necessary nexus” between the driver of the jointly occupied vehicle and the narcotics and, more specifically, noting that “[t]he observance of drugs in plain view is a compelling circumstance from which knowledge may be inferred”); cf. United States v. Bowen, 437 F.3d 1009, 1016 (10th Cir.2006) (noting that defendant’s “proximity to the drugs would be insufficient evidence [of possession], when considered in isolation, ... [b]ut when considered with the rest of the evidence presented, his close proximity to the drugs is probative” (emphases added)).
citation_b.signal: cf.
citation_b.identifier: 437 F.3d 1009, 1016
citation_b.parenthetical: noting that defendant's "proximity to the drugs would be insufficient evidence [of possession], when considered in isolation, ... [b]ut when considered with the rest of the evidence presented, his close proximity to the drugs is probative" (emphases added
citation_b.sentence: See Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366, 372, 124 S.Ct. 795, 157 L.Ed.2d 769 (2003) (concluding that there was probable cause to arrest a defendant where, notably, there were “[f]ive plastic glassine baggies of cocaine ... behind the back-seat armrest ... accessible to all three men” riding in the vehicle and “[u]pon questioning, the three men failed to offer any information with respect to the ownei’ship of the cocaine”); United, States v. McKissick, 204 F.3d 1282, 1292 (10th Cir.2000) (concluding that the government established “the necessary nexus” between the driver of the jointly occupied vehicle and the narcotics and, more specifically, noting that “[t]he observance of drugs in plain view is a compelling circumstance from which knowledge may be inferred”); cf. United States v. Bowen, 437 F.3d 1009, 1016 (10th Cir.2006) (noting that defendant’s “proximity to the drugs would be insufficient evidence [of possession], when considered in isolation, ... [b]ut when considered with the rest of the evidence presented, his close proximity to the drugs is probative” (emphases added)).