CJ 102: Chapter 6: Stop and Frisk

In evaluation of whether an investigative detention is unreasonable, ___ and ___ must govern over rigid criteria.

Common sense, ordinary human experience

Traffic stop becomes unlawful if prolonged beyond time reasonably required to:

Complete task of issuing warning ticket.

Is it only when officers feel something that resembles a weapon during their open-handed pat down of outer clothing that they can:

Conduct a further investigation and reach into concealed areas (pockets) to determine what that item is.

Confrontations of people suspected of being drug couriers must be ___ or a temporary ___.

Consensual encounter, involuntary detention (basically they come up and start asking you questions)

A protective sweep is ___ from the automatic but more limited sweep that is permitted incident to lawful arrest.

Distinguished

The reasonableness of a stop turns on the facts and circumstances of ___.

Each case

True or false: a stop always gives a police officer permission to conduct a frisk.

False

1+1 rule

If you find a weapon on one person, you are most likely to find another weapon on the other person. Frisk all in the group if weapon is found.

If a person is stopped and detained for a long period of time based on an officer's hunch but poses no threat to public safety, the stop will probably be declared ___.

Illegal

Each intrusion by the government must be justified by a ___.

Legitimate objective.

If an officer merely questions a person who is free to ignore the officer or leave, this is ___ and requires ___.

Not a stop, no justification

Sweep

One or more officers disperse throughout home with intent of looking for other people that could pose threat to officers making arrest.

A sweep may extend only to cursory inspection of places where ___ may be found.

Person

A stop always ___ a frisk.

Precedes

Protective sweep

Quick and limited search of premises, incident to arrest, and conducted to protect safety of police officers or others.

A protective sweep requires ___.

Reasonable suspicion

Police must have ___ to frisk.

Reasonable suspicion

True or false: certain police station detentions are justifiable on less than probable cause.

True; you would use these to get a statement.

Plain touch/plain feel

While staying within narrow limits of frisk for weapons, feel what he has probable cause to believe is a weapon, contraband or evidence, the officer may expand the serach or seize the object. Police officers may seize contraband detected solely through officer's frisk. Officers had a right to touch object in question and upon tactile observation, object's identity as contraband was immediately apparent.

Maryland v. Buie (1990)

If police lawfully make arrest in person's residence, a protective sweep of home is permitted based on Terry rationale.

True or false: a stop is separate from a frisk.

True

Secondary characteristics of drug couriers:

-almost exclusive use of public transportation such as taxi cabs -immediately making phone calls after deplaning -leaving a false or fictitious call back telephone number with the airline being used -excessively frequent travel to sources or distribution cities -ages between 25-35 -extreme paleness consistent with being extremely nervous -not checking bags at airports or not having id tags on luggage -purchasing tickets on day of flights -existing first or last from plane -visually scanning airport terminal for law enforcement -making no eye contact with airport personal -walking quickly through terminal while continuously checking over one's shoulder -leaving airport on arrival

Common characteristics of drug couriers:

-arrival from or departure to an identified source city -carrying little or no luggage -unusual itinerary such as rapid turnaround time for a very lengthy airplane trip -use of an alias -currency in many thousands of dollars usually on their person, or in briefcases or bags -purchasing airline tickets with large amount of small denomination currency -unusual nervousness beyond that ordinarily exhibited by passengers

Stationhouse detentions are used in many locations to:

-obtain fingerprints and photographs -order lineups -administer polygraph exams -secure other types of evidence (such as GSR)

What constitutes as restraint depends on:

-particular police conduct -the setting in which the conduct occurs

For plain-feel doctrine to apply, two conditions must be met:

-police must have reasonable suspicion to frisk (lawful vantage point and lawful access) -contraband must be immediately apparent for it to be lawfully seized

How to tell if someone is on drugs:

-rapid speech -white mouth/tongue -pupils are huge -eyes bloodshot -talking to someone who isn't there -catching invisible things -nervous, agitated -smell

A frisk is permissible when:

-the person has a reputation for dangerousness -the person is suspected of having committed a dangerous felony -visual cues suggest the presence of a weapon or similar dangerous instrument -suspect makes suggestive or furtive gestures

A lengthy stop is constitutionally permissible when:

-the public interest is served by the seizure. -the nature and scope of the intrusion are not excessive. -the officer possesses enough in the way of objective facts to justify the stop.

Factors used to distinguish between a stop and a consensual encounter:

-threatening behavior on the part of the officer -presence of several officers -display of a weapon by an officer -physical touching of the person by the officer -issuing of intimidating language or tone of voice -use of lights or sirens -blocking of the person's path by the officer -coercive police behavior -incident taking place out of public view

Reasons/situations we can frisk people:

-vehicle stops and weapons searches -protective sweeps -plain touch and feel -profiling -investigative

Frisk

A carefully limited search of the outer clothing in an attempt to discover weapons which might be used to assault an officer.

Drug courier profiling

A crime-detection process that makes use of what is known about the likely and observable characteristics of drug couriers. Usually occurs in stop-and-frisk situations. Most common in airports.

Reasonable suspicion

A lesser degree of certainty than probable cause but greater degree of certainty than a hunch or unsupported belief.

Definition of Paul Markonni's drug profile:

An informally compiled abstract of characteristics thought typical of persons carrying illicit drugs.

Terry held that a frisk is permissible only when:

An officer reasonably fears for their safety.

Contraband must be immediately ___ for it to be lawfully seized.

Apparent.

When actions by police exceed bounds permitted by reasonable suspicion, seizure becomes ___ and must be supported by ___.

Arrest, probable cause.

Regarding a frisk: the courts will usually defer to the judgement of the officer, assuming that they are able to ___ some specific facts that contributed to reasonable suspicion that the suspect was armed and dangerous.

Articulate

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

Formed the foundation for the law governing police actions that are based on reasonable suspicion. The officer must have reasonable suspicion that the person stopped is armed and dangerous in order to conduct the frisk.

Michigan v. Long (1983) - if police officer orders driver (or passenger or both) out of car, is reasonably suspicious that driver is armed and dangerous, and frisks driver, officer may also:

Search interior of car within suspect's immediate control.

A stop is the same as a ___ of a person.

Seizure

Regarding a frisk: the determination of a potential threat is a ___ one.

Subjective

Reasonable belief was created by the ___.

Supreme Court, not the Constitution

A stationhouse detention is less intrusive than an arrest but more intrusive than a ___.

Terry stop

Courson v. McMillan (1991)

The Court held that an officer's act of stopping a car and holding the occupants at gunpoint for 30 minutes was not illegal because most of the time was spent waiting for backup to arrive.

If police conduct falls short of a stop and frisk:

The Fourth Amendment does not apply, and therefore reasonable suspicion is not required.

If the police officer's activities do not amount to a stop:

The Fourth Amendment does not apply.

Stop

The detention of a person by law enforcement officers for the purpose of investigation.

Florida v. Royer (1983)

The first case to apply the test set forth in Mendenhall in order to determine the conditions under which a seizure or stop may take place. The Court wrote that "an investigative detention must be temporary and last no longer than is necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop. The investigative methods employed should be the least intrusive means reasonably available to verify or dispel the officer's suspicion in a short period of time."

To frisk, the officer needs reasonable suspicion that ___, separate from reasonable suspicion to stop the person.

The person is armed and dangerous.

In addition to the suspicion required to justify a stop, an officer must have reasonable suspicion that ___ in order to conduct a frisk.

The person stopped is armed and dangerous.

A Terry stop/seizure

The police question a person or communicate with them. A reasonable person would believe that they are not free to leave.

A stop occurs (a person has been seized) when a reasonable person believes that:

They are not free to leave.

What to say during a frisk:

This is for my safety and yours, I need to make sure that you don't have a weapon on you.