I have examined the dollar bill in question. It is tightly folded into a square measuring 1 inch by 3/4 inch. By virtue of its compact folding, its thickness is significant. It is folded in a manner that would keep any powdered contents inside and unable to leak out because the folds encompass all four sides.
The Court today decides that our decision in Grandison v. Commonwealth, 274 Va. 316, 645 S.E.2d 298 (2007) controls the outcome of this case and further notes that, as was the situation in Grandison, "the folded dollar bill was legal material with a legitimate purpose." The majority thus concludes that the officer lacked probable cause to seize and search the folded dollar bill recovered from the defendant.
In this case, it is important to remember that we are not dealing with certainties or even a standard requiring proof "beyond a reasonable doubt," rather, we must consider probabilities.
The legal standard of probable cause, as the term suggests, relates to probabilities that are based upon the factual and practical considerations in everyday life as perceived by reasonable and prudent persons. The presence or absence of probable cause is not to be examined from the perspective of a legal technician. Rather, probable cause exists when the facts and circumstances within the officer's knowledge, and of which he has reasonably trustworthy information, alone are sufficient to warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe that an offense has been or is being committed. Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 313, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959); Schaum v. Commonwealth, 215 Va. 498, 500, 211 S.E.2d 73, 75 (1975). In order to ascertain whether probable cause exists, courts will focus upon "what the totality of the circumstances meant to police officers trained in analyzing the observed conduct for purposes of crime control." Hollis v. Commonwealth, 216 Va. 874, 877, 223 S.E.2d 887, 889 (1976).
Taylor v. Commonwealth, 222 Va. 816, 820-21, 284 S.E.2d 833, 836 (1981).
The question is not whether the presence of such an unusually folded dollar bill provides proof beyond a reasonable doubt of its contents. Rather, the question is one of probable cause that contraband may be inside *512the unusually folded dollar bill thereby justifying the seizure and search. We are required to consider probabilities, not certainties, and to do so through the eyes of a reasonable police officer who has specialized training.
In my opinion, the unusually folded dollar bill provided sufficient justification for the seizure and the search. Grandison was wrongly decided and so is this case.