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Just how "free to leave" are you?

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant’s traffic ticket took 17-20 minutes. He was free to leave, and the officer asked for consent, which defendant first hesitated about and the officer clarified, and he consented. United States v. Mohammed, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129055 (M.D. Fla. June 29, 2009).* Defendant’s traffic ticket took 16 minutes. As he was walking back to his car, he was asked for consent, which he gave. United States v. Cruz-Guzman, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129013 (M.D. Fla. May 21, 2009).* One could say that the defendants here were just stupid for consenting, which might be only a little true. Instead, I believe all these type cases involve the officer exploiting the every motorist’s legal need to cooperate during a traffic stop, which his hardly ever discussed in the cases...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 24, 2010 (boomark / email).