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MA: Search of passenger at police station on PC for driver was unreasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant was the passenger in a car stopped for probable possession of drugs. The driver was arrested and defendant was handcuffed, told he was not under arrest, and then transported to the police station for further search. All they had on defendant was that he was a known associate of the other defendant and they went to NYC the day before allegedly to buy drugs. Nothing was found associated with defendant in the car on this search. Taking him in violated the Fourth Amendment. Commonwealth v. Griffin, 2011 Mass. App. LEXIS 400 (March 22, 2011): Even if reasonable suspicion existed to question and conduct a pat-down of the defendant, once nothing more was learned or discovered, either on him or in the car, the defendant should not have been further detained...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 24, 2011 (boomark / email).