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"Have a good evening" and turning to go back to patrol car ended stop

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officer saying "Have a good evening" and turning to go back to patrol car before returning was a sufficient break in causation to make the consent independent. State v. Cameron, 2008 Wisc. App. LEXIS 47 (January 23, 2008).* (Comment: I refuse to buy into this. A motorist never feels free to leave as long as he or she is being spoken to by a cop.) Anonymous tip corroborated by prior knowledge of defendant's drug activity supported reasonable suspicion. Coupled with flight, that was enough. Commonwealth v. Morgan, 2008 Ky. LEXIS 13 (January 24, 2008): Sheriff Staples stated that his stop of Morgan and Evans was based on the totality of three factors: the anonymous tip specifically identifying Morgan, Evans, and Mansfield as engaging in drug-related activity; his prior knowledge about the suspects' drug-related arrests and convictions; and their attempt to elude the police by leaving Morgan's trailer...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 28, 2008 (boomark / email).