A Medford man is headed back to court to face charges of cultivating marijuana after the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday reversed the suppression of a search warrant. The vote to vacate the decision of the lower court was unanimous.

Kenneth “Skip” Coffin, 54, was arrested last summer after deputies from the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department seized more than 60 marijuana plants in and around his home. He also was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

Coffin, who does not have a history of drug-related crimes, pleaded not guilty last August in 13th District Court in Dover-Foxcroft.

At a subsequent hearing, Judge Kevin Stitham granted a motion to suppress the evidence obtained with a search warrant from Coffin’s home, vehicles and outbuildings because the affidavit submitted in support of the warrant did not provide a substantial basis for a finding of probable cause.

“[T]he affidavit here reveals that eight marijuana plants were discovered growing in the vicinity of the Coffin residence and that there was a beaten path that went from the direction of the plants toward the Coffin residence,” wrote Justice Susan Calkins for the state’s high court. “This indicated a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime would be found on the Coffin premises, and that is all that is required for a search warrant.”

Piscataquis County District Attorney Christopher Almy said Thursday that he expected Coffin’s case to be back on the District Court docket next month. He added that he was not surprised by the court’s decision.

“The court is very inclined to favor searches conducted pursuant to search warrants,” said Almy.

In another decision issued Thursday, the court unanimously agreed with the Ellsworth Planning Board’s denial of a proposal to construct two six-unit residential buildings near the intersection of State and Oak streets. Rhonda and Patrick Jordan of Ellsworth appealed the Hancock County Superior Court’s judgment in the planning board’s favor.

The board initially approved the proposal as an apartment building in July 2001, but that approval was overturned on appeal. The Jordans resubmitted the project as a long-term residency hotel, but that was rejected by both the planning and the appeals boards.

Maine’s high court agreed with the planning board that the proposed structure constituted living units and not the temporary guest rooms found in a hotel.