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D.Mass: Reasonable suspicion is lower when the possible crime is more grave

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Shortly after the Madrid train bombing, a Boston officer just trained in terrorism investigation saw a van parked outside an MBTA station that was of interest. Another officer drove up and approached the defendant in his van. The stop and questions were valid. When investigating potential terrorism, a sliding scale of reasonable suspicion exists. United States v. Ramos, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66465 (D. Mass. August 29, 2008): The location where conduct occurs also bears on whether it is sufficiently suspicious to justify further investigation. For example, the Supreme Court has stated that in the vicinity of the Mexican border "'the likelihood that any given person of Mexican ancestry is an alien is high enough to make Mexican appearance a relevant factor' ...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 04, 2008 (boomark / email).