Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Fourth Amendment

Criminal Law

: Fourth Amendment

Prior drug arrests can be a factor in reasonable suspicion; nervousness is not much of one

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The record supports the finding of reasonable suspicion in this case, but the defendant's nervousness is not much of a factor. Prior drug arrests can be. State v. Louthan, 275 Neb. 101, 2008 Neb. LEXIS 21 (February 15, 2008): An individual's criminal history may be a relevant factor when determining whether an officer has reasonable suspicion to detain an individual. In Lee, this court held that the officers' awareness that the motorist had unspecified "'prior drug arrests'" could be considered as a part of the totality of the circumstances in determining whether there was a reasonable, articulable suspicion which would warrant continued detention pending the arrival of a drug detection dog. Defendant was "in custody" when he was in the police car after an arrest at the scene of an accident...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 19, 2008 (boomark / email).