Appellate Law

CA1: A Terry stop of a parked car and slumped passenger

By S. COTUS

US v. Ruidiaz, No. 07-1988.  This is a felon-in-possession case, but it is really an appeal of a suppression motion.  After a shooting and an ?anonymous? 911 call (the caller said that the cops could call back), officers found the defendant slumped over the dashboard of a car and illegally parked.  The defendant responded with profanity, and the police responded with a Terry stop.  The court says that the totality of the circumstances is good enough for the Terry stop.  The defendant says that 911 call should not count.  The first says ?Here, the 911 caller confirmed his telephone number and agreed that the police could call him back. Because he was aware that his identity could easily be unearthed, the likelihood of prevarication was diminished.?  Then, the First explains how the call wasn?t completely anonymous.  The rest of the analysis (as to who heard what and when) the First says is a credibility call, and therefore the Terry stop was based on objectively reasonable beliefs.

Full post as published by Appellate Law and Practice on June 12, 2008 (boomark / email).