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D.Neb.: Seizure of defendant's bag off a bus was seizure of the person without reasonable suspicion

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Seizure of defendant's luggage off an bus was an interference with his freedom of movement and was a seizure of the person. United States v. Alvarez-Manzo, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55662 (D. Neb. July 3, 2008): With respect to the first factor the evidence supports the defendant's contention that the officers detention of the luggage significantly impacted the defendant's freedom of movement. At the time the officers entered the bus with Alvarez-Manzo's luggage, the bus was preparing to depart. The officers boarded the bus and announced that they were looking for the owner of certain luggage. Alvarez-Manzo was not free to leave the bus, for to do so, he would have had to leave the luggage with the officers and would have risked missing the next leg of his journey...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 26, 2008 (boomark / email).