Yes.

Yes, the police officer can give a citation for something that he was not looking for in the first place, but that does not leave your friends without potential defenses. The first potential avenue of attack s whether the officer and RAs had cause to enter the apartment in the first place. Did your friends consent to the entry? Did the officer come in on his own? Was the smell enough to justify entry? These are all things that a defense attorney would able to help with. Second, are empty beer cans sufficient to sustain a charge of underage alcohol possession? Frankly, I haven't looked into this scenario before, but were I your friends' attorney, I would look into where the cans were, if there was any alcohol at all remaining or if they were empty and bone dry inside, and consider arguing that possession of empty beer cans is not the same as possession of alcohol. Potentially a bit of a hard sell, but it may be worth considering.

That said, none of the above is legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship has formed. The above is off-the-top-of-my-head musings about what your friends might want to discuss with a defense attorney, but it is NOT a substitute for a formal discussion with an attorney.

I agree with the previous answer. If the search was illegal, the fruits of that search are inadmissible. Their claim of marijuana smell may have been a ruse to gain entrance to the room.

In any event, your friends don't want the marijuana citations on their records. These marks may have adverse influences on future employment. Therefore, they may want to pay an attorney to represent them in court and perform an adequate investigation.

Also licensed and practicing in Maryland

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