Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Fourth Amendment

Criminal Law

: Fourth Amendment

LA: Flight easily most important factor in totality

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

“[F]light from police officers is the most important factor in the totality of circumstances analysis.” State v. Morgan, 2011 La. LEXIS 603 (March 15, 2011): However, in several cases, we have expressly held or at least implied that the defendant’s flight from police officers is the most important factor in the totality of the circumstances analysis. In State v. Lewis, we specifically held that, “the totality of the circumstances known to the officer at the time, including the residents’ complaints of drug activity, the ‘hot spot’ nature of the area, respondent's nervousness, and, most importantly, his unprovoked headlong flight from the officer, gave rise to reasonable suspicion for an investigatory detention...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 18, 2011 (boomark / email).