Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Defense Newsletter Blog

Criminal Law

: Defense Newsletter Blog

Harris: Search of Cab Passenger Compartment Did not Violate 4th Amend.

By Tim Cone

In U.S. v. Harris, No. 07-13473 (May 8, 2008), the Court affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress a firearm found after a search of a taxi in which the defendant had been riding.An Atlanta, Georgia, police officer saw Harris remove what appeared to be a handgun from bushes, and get into a taxi. The officer followed the cab, and pulled the cab over when the cab failed to use its turn signal when changing lanes. The officer searched Harris and found nothing on him. The officer then asked the cab driver for consent to search the cab, and found a .357 magnum under the floor mat. Harris, charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, moved to suppress the firearm on the ground that the search violated the Fourth Amendment.The Court noted that the officer had probable cause to stop the cab, because of the failure to use a turn signal during a lane change...continue to full post

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on May 08, 2008 (boomark / email).