morning hours of February 21, 2002, after observing the car stop at an intersection with its front tires in the crosswalk. The officers approached the vehicle and asked defendant for her license and proof of insurance. Defendant was unable to produce either a license or proof of insurance, but did give officers her state identification card. When the officers ran defendant's information through the computer, they discovered that defendant's driver's license had been suspended. The officers then placed defendant and her passengers in the back of their squad car for safekeeping because it was a cold night and the car was going to be impounded pursuant to city policy. The officers requested backup to help shelter defendant and her passengers as well as to begin conducting an inventorysearch of the car.
Despite the lack of articulable suspicion of the presence of marijuana or any other illegal drugs, Officer Prochaska requested a canine unit be sent to the scene. The canine unit was the first of two backup units that responded. As Officer Walsh was completing defendant's citations, the canine unit conducted a sniff of the exterior of defendant's car. The dog alerted on the trunk. Officers opened the trunk and removed a suitcase that they set off to one side of the vehicle. The dog then sniffed the exterior of the suitcase and alerted on the suitcase. Thereafter, the suitcase was opened and police discovered a large brick of cannabis that weighed in excess of 17,000 grams (37 pounds).
Defendant's trial counsel filed a motion to suppress