State of Maine v. Abdirahmon A. Abdullahi

Summary

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Abdullahi’s convictions for drug trafficking and falsifying evidence, holding that the traffic stop and arrest were lawful, the police officers’ lay opinion testimony was admissible, the permissible‑inference jury instruction was proper, and the trial court did not err in denying his motions for judgment of acquittal or a new trial. The court rejected Abdullahi’s arguments that the stop was an unlawful de facto arrest, that officer testimony required expert qualification, and that the statutory inference was unconstitutional or unsupported by the evidence.