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D.Neb.: Protective weapons search of small camera case unreasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant was arrested for trespassing at a Wal-Mart, and the officer, with some knowledge defendant might have a firearm or two, conducted a protective weapons search of a 2'x3' camera case finding drugs. The search incident was invalid because the camera case could not hold a firearm. United States v. Leffler, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19046 (D. Neb. February 4, 2010): The problem, however, for the government in this case, whether analyzed under Gant or Long, is that the search must be limited to those areas in which a weapon may be placed or hidden. Here, the officers' stated concern was a firearm or the two firearms mentioned in Officer Velasquez's pass-along book information. It is not logical or reasonable to believe that a firearm was hidden within a 2-inch by 3-inch camera case...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 08, 2010 (boomark / email).