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Classic stop and frisk for acting suspicious was valid and included a consent to frisk

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officers had reasonable suspicion to stop and frisk defendant who was acting suspicious in a high crime area, hanging with others, and they split up, the officers believing it was a diversion. When defendant was stopped, he said he was going home, but it was in the wrong direction. Then, an officer noticed a bulge in defendant's pocket, and when defendant reached into that pocket to find identification, defendant immediately withdrew his hand, indicating that he was hiding something. The court also found that defendant consented to a search of his person because in response to an officer's asking to search, defendant raised his arms in the air. [Right up to the last sentence, they were doing so well; how could that consent possibly be valid?] United States v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 25, 2008 (boomark / email).