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PA: Defendant's body language also supported claim of lack of consent

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Trial court’s conclusion of lack of consent was based in part on body language on the video of the stop, and it supported the finding. The owner of the car had standing in the trunk of the car, but the passenger did not, as in Rakas. Commonwealth v. Powell, 2010 PA Super 51, 2010 Pa. Super. LEXIS 85 (March 31, 2010). When the car was stopped and the occupant ordered out of the car, the officers saw the stolen property in the back seat in plain view. That gave them reasonable suspicion to question driver and passenger. State v. Zaldivar, 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 4194 (Fla. App. 3DCA March 31, 2010).* Defendant stop after seeing something handed over was not probable cause because the officers lacked a reasonable belief that it was a drug transaction...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 02, 2010 (boomark / email).