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CA1: Defendant was not stopped by an officer pulling up driving the wrong way on a one-way street

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officers who drove the wrong way on a street to encounter the defendant did not actually "stop" him. The situation was non-coercive and di dnot become a stop until defendant mentioned that he had a gun. The First Circuit explains the law of stops in detail, just to show that this was not a "stop." United States v. Ford, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 23087 (1st Cir. November 5, 2008): Applying this precedent to the instant case, we decline to hold that the Officers seized Ford before he disclosed that he was in possession of a firearm. See Mendenhall, 446 U.S. at 555 (rejecting proposition that making statements contrary to one's self-interest necessarily indicates involuntary submission). The Officers, like those in Cardoza, drove a short distance the wrong way on Gleason Street for the purpose of asking Ford questions but activated neither the cruiser's siren or flashing lights...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 12, 2008 (boomark / email).