Posted at: 12/01/2009 3:10 PM | KSAX.com
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Judge Upholds Search of Wis. Lawmaker's Vehicle

PORTAGE, Wis. (AP) - A judge has upheld a state trooper's warrantless search of a Wisconsin lawmaker's vehicle that turned up two bags of marijuana and a pipe.

Columbia County Judge Daniel George on Tuesday denied Rep. Jeffrey Wood's motion to suppress the evidence found in his vehicle last year.

George says that under the circumstances the trooper did not need a warrant to search Wood's Buick Skylark after he arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving.

The ruling is a blow for Wood, a Chippewa Falls independent who has been charged three times this year with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. His attorney had argued the trooper needed a warrant under a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)