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N.D. Ill.: Defendant who showed up at the same time as a SWAT team to execute drug SW could be detained

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant's detention at the scene of a search where he just showed up at that same time as fourteen officers to execute a search warrant was reasonable. Drug sales had occurred there that day. United States v. Banks, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43831 (N.D. Ill. May 26, 2009): The courts of appeals have offered several justifications for the rule that individuals who for whatever reason find themselves at the scene of an ongoing search are subject to at least a temporary detention by law enforcement officers. In Jennings, the Seventh Circuit found that in view of the entry of the defendant into the "security perimeter surrounding the apartment where the narcotics search was underway" and the "elevated risk of violence during a search for narcotics," the officers "were reasonably concerned for their own and for [the defendant's] safety, as well as for any activity that might compromise the search...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 28, 2009 (boomark / email).