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Muehler v. Mena does not permit a law enforcement officer to extend a stop to ask questions of a passenger.

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Muehler v. Mena does not permit a law enforcement officer to extend a stop to ask questions of a passenger. That case is limited to search warrants. State v. Smith, 2008 Kan. LEXIS 204 (May 30, 2008): In Muehler v. Mena, 544 U.S. 93, 161 L. Ed. 2d 299, 125 S. Ct. 1465 (2005), the United States Supreme Court held that law enforcement officers could ask questions unrelated to the purpose of a search when executing a warrant authorizing the search of a residence. This case raises the question of whether that decision alters our longstanding rule that a law enforcement officer violates the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and § 15 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights by asking a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation to consent to a search that is unrelated to the purpose of the stop...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 02, 2008 (boomark / email).