Class 9: Stop and Frisk

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Class 9 Stop and Frisk
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Detentions and De Facto Arrests

• Length - detention may be no longer than
  necessary to effectuate purposes
• Location - investigation at scene of detention
  anything but de minimis movement elevates to
  arrest
• Cuffing indicative of arrest but not dispositive
• Character of any search performed
• Police communications to individual

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Limitations on a Frisk

• Limited to brief pat-down of outer clothing of
  individual
• Item reasonably suspected to be weapon can be
  removed and inspected
• Further search permissible if police develop PC
  of contraband without expanding scope of pat down
  (MN v. Dickerson)
• Car frisk (MI v. Long)

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Reasonable Suspicion

• Reasonable suspicion for a detention exists when,
  in view of the totality of the circumstances, an
  officer has a particularized and objective basis
  for suspecting the person to be stopped of
  criminal activity

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Quantity of Information

• Lower than probable cause
• Roughly 30

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Quality of Information

• Mere hunch insufficient
• Police experience and training credited (Terry
  US v. Arvizu)
• Less reliable info also permissible (AL v. White)
• High crime area, flight as factors

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Is race a permissible factor?

• OK if witness description includes race
• Impermissible as sole basis for stop by roving
  patrol (US v. Brignoni-Ponce)
• Permissible as sole basis for secondary
  inspection at immigration roadblock (US v.
  Martinez-Fuerte)(initial stop permissible without
  any suspicion)

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Problem 3-12

• Was there a seizure?
• If RS to stop, was the photograph related to the
  purposes of the detention?
• Was photograph a fruit of an illegal detention?
• Does Wills have reasonable expectation of privacy
  in his own image? If not, would his image have
  been inevitably discovered by lawful means?

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Problems with Profiles

• Reproduce arrest patterns
• Secret
• Inconsistent
• Malleable
• Racial overtones

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Supreme Court on Profiles

• Agnostic
• Looks through profiles to factors in support of
  reasonable suspicion or probable cause

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Next time

• Exceptions to the Warrant Requirement, pp.
  332-351
• Exceptions continued pp. 352-379