Stop and Frisk, Chapter 6, Criminal Procedure

Stop and frisk

A stop is separate from a frisk. A stop always precedes a frisk, but a stop do not give a police officer permission to conduct a frisk. Separate justification is required for each act. Reasonable suspicion

Duration of the stop

A stop may last no longer than necessary to effectuate its objective.

Summarize the rules concerning a "stop" in the stop-and-frisk context.

A stop, defined as a brief detention, is usually permissible (1) when the officer observes a person engaging in unusual activity, (2) when the officer receives information from an informant who is reliable, and/or (3) when the officer receives a communication from another police department that the person to be stopped is suspected of involvement in criminal activity.

Frisk

A superficial examination by the officer of the person's body or clothing to discover weapons or items that could be used to cause harm. The officer needs reasonable suspicion that the suspect is armed and dangerous in order to conduct a frisk. The officer needs reasonable suspicion that the suspect is armed and dangerous in order to conduct a frisk.

Profiling

Drug Courier profiling - controversial

Proper Seizures Based on Plain View, Feel, and Touch

Example 1: An officer conducts a pat down of a man who seems intoxicated and smells like marijuana. When he feels a bulge in the man's jacket, the officer reaches into his pocket and finds a "bong." Example 2: While serving an arrest warrant, an officer frisks a suspect and feels a bulge in his pocket. Upon reaching into the suspect's pocket, the officer feels two baggies full of rock-like objects. He seizes the items, which turn out to be crack cocaine. Example 3: An officer responds to a complaint and notices a large bulge in the suspect's pocket. He reaches in the suspect's pocket and withdraws a bottle.

Investigative Detentions

Less intrusive than an arrest but more intrusive than a terry stop.

Minnesota v. Dickerson

Plain Feel: Must be there legally, must immediately recognize contraband, & must not manipulate

Typical Characteristics of Drug Couriers

Use small denominations of currency for ticket purchases Travel to and from major drug import centers Have no luggage or use empty suitcases on trips that normally require extra clothing Travel under an alias Have an unusual itinerary, such as a rapid turnaround time for a very lengthy airplane trip Carry unusually large amounts of currency (that is, many thousands of dollars) Display unusual nervousness beyond that ordinarily exhibited by passengers Use public transportation almost exclusively upon departing the airport

United States versus Mendenhall

a lengthy stop is constitutionally permissible when (a) the public interest is served by the seizure, (b) the nature and scope of the intrusion are not excessive, and (c) the officer possesses enough in the way of objective facts to justify the stop (page 561). Thus, if a person is stopped and detained for a long time based on an officer's hunch but poses no threat to public safety, the stop will probably be declared illegal. In such a situation, the stop would need to be justified by probable cause because it would amount to a de facto arrest.

US v. Sokolow

an investigatory search may be conducted if the totality of the circumstances establishes reasonable suspicion to believe that a person matches the drug courier profile

Maryland v. Buie

officers may search the suspect and the adjoining space region incident to a lawful arrest; if there is reasonable suspicion to believe that there is hidden danger present, officers may conduct a protective sweep of the area, but it is only to be a cursory search for people and may last no longer than it takes to dispel the reasonable suspicion of danger

Delaware v. Prouse

police may conduct brief, scientifically random/systemic, "suspicionless" searches of motorists at fixed roadside checkpoints

Florida v. Bostick

randomized consent searches of individuals who are on public transportation is acceptable, even though such searches carry some degree of implied coercion and are not truly voluntary; the governing test is whether a reasonable person feels free to decline an officer's request to search

Terry v. Ohio

stop and frisk "terry stop"

US v. Mendenhall

to determine whether an arrest has taken place, a court will apply an objective standard, focusing on the reasonable impression conveyed to the person subjected to the apprehension and detention. In this respect, the inquiry is whether, in the view of all the circumstances surrounding the encounter a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave.

When a Frisk Is Permissible?

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

Expansion of Stop and Frisk

- Vehicle stops Delaware versus Prouse Protective sweeps Arrest in person's residence, sweep of home is permitted - Plain touch and feel Reasonable suspicion Immediately apparent contraband

Ybarra v. Illinois

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Part 2

1. Immediately make a phone call after deplaning 2. Leave a false or fictitious call-back telephone number with the airline 3. Dress in an unusual manner 4. Are between 25 and 35 years old 5. Are extremely pale (consistent with being extremely nervous) 6. Do not use identification tags on luggage 7. Purchase tickets on the day of the flight 8. Exit first or last from the plane 9. Walk quickly through the terminal while continuously checking over their shoulders 10. Quickly leave the airport on arrival

Figure 6-3 Summary of "Stop" in Stop-And-Frisk

A Terry stop/seizure is characterized by two specific events: (1) The police question a person or communicate with him or her. (2) A reasonable person would believe that he or she is not free to leave. Reasonable suspicion is required in order to make a Terry stop conform to Fourth Amendment requirements. Conversely, if an officer detains a person in such a manner that a reasonable person would believe he or she is free to leave, the protections of the Fourth Amendment do not apply, and reasonable suspicion is not required. If the officer wishes to conduct a frisk—a separate act from a stop— he or she must have reasonable suspicion that the suspect is armed and dangerous, not just reasonable suspicion, as required for a Terry stop. There are no clear answers as to what is the appropriate duration for a stop.

drug courier profiling

A crime-detection process that makes use of what is known about the likely and observable characteristics of drug couriers. Drug courier profiling usually occurs in stop-and-frisk situations

drug courier profiling

A crime-detection process that makes use of what is known about the likely and observable characteristics of drug couriers. Drug courier profiling usually occurs in stop-and-frisk situations.

Summary of "Frisk" in Stop-And-Frisk

A frisk is permissible when an officer reasonably fears for his or her safety. However, there is no easy way to discern the facts that would cause an officer to reasonably fear for his or her safety. If an officer can offer no facts or testimony to support the frisk, it will probably be declared unconstitutional. On the other hand, if the officer possesses some objective information that served as the basis for a frisk (for example., observing a bulge in a suspect's pocket), the frisk will probably be legal. A number of cases have focused on the permissible scope of a frisk, and three important restrictions have been imposed. First, a frisk can be nothing more than a patdown of someone's outer clothing. Groping or squeezing is not permissible. Second, a frisk must be motivated by the desire to promote officer safety, not by the desire to seek out any form of contraband. That is, the sole purpose of a Terry patdown is to protect the officer from weapons that might be used by the suspect during the encounter. Finally, for an officer to legally seize an item during the course of a frisk, that item must be immediately apparent to the officer as contraband.

Terry v. Ohio TextBook

A person can be stopped if an officer has reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot and frisked if an officer has reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and dangerous.

investigative detention

Also called a station house detention, a less intrusive detention than an arrest but more intrusive than a Terry stop. Station house detentions are used in many locations for such purposes as obtaining fingerprints and photographs, ordering lineups, administering polygraph examinations, and securing other types of evidence.

investigative detention

Also called a stationhouse detention, a less intrusive detention than an arrest but more intrusive than a Terry stop. Stationhouse detentions are used in many locations for such purposes as obtaining fingerprints and photographs, ordering lineups, administering polygraph examinations, and securing other types of evidence.

California v. Hodari D. (1991)

Arrest (search incident to arrest): suspects who flee and throw away items can later be arrested based on the incriminating nature of the abandoned items.

Summarize the rules concerning a "frisk" in the stop-and-frisk context

Frisks are limited. If one is authorized because the officer reasonably fears for his or her safety, it is limited to a pat down of the person's outer clothing. Above all else, the frisk must be motivated by an officer's concern for safety.

Pennsylvania v. Mimms

Held that police officers can compel a driver to step out of his car when stopping him for a minor traffic violation

U.S. v. Montoya de Hernandez

Routine searches of the persons and effects of entrants are not subject to any requirement of reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or warrant - We hold that the detention of a traveler at the border, beyond the scope of a routine customs search and inspection, is justified at its inception if customs agents, considering all the facts surrounding the traveler and trip, reasonably suspect that the traveler is smuggling contraband.

Sibron v. New York (1968)

Ruled that mere observation of Sibron without hearing any of his conversations with the addicts failed to provide probable cause for a warrantless search

The stop

Stop is detention of a person by a law enforcement officer for the purpose of investigation

explain how stop-and-frisk law has expanded over time.

Stop-and-frisk law has expanded as a result of Supreme Court decisions in the areas of vehicle stops, protective sweeps, plain touch and feel, profiling (typ- ically drug courier profiling), and investigative detention

Reasonable Suspicion

Supreme Court declared police must have reasonable suspicion to search. It attempts to achieve a balance between due process and crime control.

Text Book

Text Book

Reid v. Georgia (1980) ruled that:

The drug courier profile by itself cannot amount to reasonable suspicion