Police had no reasonable suspicion to detain for 45 minutes on belief that power washer was stolen

The Fourth Amendment’s protections extend to brief investigatory stops that fall short of a traditional arrest. Ramirez v. City of Buena Park, 560 F.3d 1012, 1020 (9th Cir. 2009) (citing United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 273, 122 S.Ct. 744, 151 L.Ed.2d 740 (2002)). Courts must determine, based on the totality of the circumstances, whether a police-initiated stop is supported by the officer’s reasonable suspicion. Id. Reasonable suspicion exists if “specific, articulable facts . . . together with objective and reasonable inferences” suggest that the persons detained by the police are engaged in criminal activity. United States v. Lopez-Soto, 205 F.3d 1101, 1105 (9th Cir. 2000) (citations omitted).

An officer’s mere hunch is insufficient to meet the reasonable suspicion standard. Arvizu, 534 U.S. at 274. However, conduct that appears innocent to untrained eyes can convey different information to an experienced and trained observer. See United States v. Bernard, 623 F.2d 551, 560 (9th Cir. 1980) (“The test is whether ordinary, reasonable men, possessed of the experience and knowledge of [the police officers] would conclude that the transaction . . . was more likely than not a criminal transaction”) (citations omitted).

The government justifies the officers’ initial stop based on Sergeant Justus’ knowledge of Swingle and his belief that the pressure washer was likely stolen and being traded for drugs. However, this court finds that based on the totality of the circumstances, the police did not have reasonable suspicion to order defendant out of the mobile home. Defendant’s conduct involving the pressure washer did not provide Sergeant Justus with a reasonable basis to “conclude that the transaction . . . was more likely than not a criminal transaction.” Bernard,623 F.2d at 560. The court considered the PPB’s experience with Swingle, but notes that Swingle has never been convicted of stealing property. Additionally, Sergeant Justus’ testified during the hearing that he stops Swingle every time he sees him, regardless of the circumstances. Such conduct, supported only by speculation is unwarranted and falls short of establishing reasonable suspicion to search and detain Swingle, and anybody unfortunate enough to be traveling with him, whenever Swingle is seen in possession of personal property.

U.S. v. Izguerra-Robles, 660 F. Supp. 2d 1202, 1206 (D. Or. 2009), https://casetext.com/case/us-v-izguerra-robles

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Police got in wife’s car, directed her to nearby parking lot while husband was arrested at home.

Defendant-Appellant Lucas Gregory Fox entered a conditional guilty plea to one count of possession of an unregistered shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches long, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841, 5845(a), 5861(d), and 5871. Law enforcement officers found the firearm in Fox’s home after his wife consented to the search. Fox appeals the denial of his motion to suppress evidence, arguing that his wife’s consent to search the home was invalid. We exercise jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and reverse and remand for further proceedings.

A warrantless search of an individual’s home is “per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment unless the government can show that it falls within one of a carefully defined set of exceptions.” United States v. Cos, 498 F.3d 1115, 1123 (10th Cir. 2007) (quotation omitted). Here, the government relied on Ms. Chiles’s consent to search the home as an exception to the general warrant requirement. Fox argues that Ms. Chiles’s consent was invalid because it was tainted by a prior illegal seizure and, as a result, her consent was not voluntary.

We have identified three general categories of encounters between police and citizens:

(1) consensual encounters which do not implicate the Fourth Amendment; (2) investigative detentions which are Fourth Amendment seizures of limited scope and duration and must be supported by a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity; and (3) arrests, the most intrusive of Fourth Amendment seizures and reasonable only if supported by probable cause.

Although the government contends that Ms. Chiles could have told Officer Osterdyk to get out of her car, we do not think that under the circumstances a reasonable person would have felt free to do so. Accordingly, we conclude that Ms. Chiles was seized within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.

Because the officers did not have reasonable suspicion to detain Ms. Chiles, the seizure was unlawful.

Read more here: U.S. v. Fox, 600 F.3d 1253, 1255 (10th Cir. 2010), https://casetext.com/case/us-v-fox-33/

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A seizure occurs when police prevents a person from leaving by keeping his driver’s license.

In sum, under the most recent cases a seizure occurs only if: (1) a reasonable person would feel, under all the circumstances, he could not disregard the police inquiries and go about his business; (2) the restraints imposed upon him result from the police conduct itself rather than the happenstance of where the encounter occurred; and (3) the person actually reacted in a manner consistent with being “seized.”

While a police request for identification does not automatically give rise to a seizure, we have stated on previous occasions that “once the identification is handed over to police and they have had a reasonable opportunity to review it, if the identification is not returned to the detainee [it is] difficult to imagine that any reasonable person would feel free to leave without it.” United States v. Battista, 876 F.2d 201, 205 (D.C.Cir.1989); cf. Royer, 460 U.S. at 501, 103 S.Ct. at 1326 (plurality opinion) (noting that a seizure occurred when, among other things, police “retain[ed the defendant’s] ticket and driver’s license … without indicating in any way that he was free to depart”).

United States v. Jordan, 951 F.2d 1278, 1282 (D.C. Cir. 1991)

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Police block a person’s car in a narrow parking lot. Was this a seizure under 4th Amendment?

A Fourth Amendment seizure occurs “when physical force is used to restrain movement or when a person submits to an officer’s ‘show of authority.’ ” United States v. Brodie , 742 F.3d 1058, 1061 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (quoting California v. Hodari D. , 499 U.S. 621, 626, 111 S.Ct. 1547, 113 L.Ed.2d 690 (1991) ). A show of authority sufficient to constitute a seizure occurs where “the police conduct would have communicated to a reasonable person that he was not at liberty to ignore the police presence and go about his business,” Florida v. Bostick , 501 U.S. 429, 437, 111 S.Ct. 2382, 115 L.Ed.2d 389 (1991) (internal quotation marks omitted), or, put another way, where “a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave,” United States v. Mendenhall , 446 U.S. 544, 554, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 (1980).

The officers’ conduct—pulling into the narrow parking lot at night; training the take-down light on the Jeep; and, most importantly, parking their cruiser within a few feet of the Jeep’s nose—amounted to a “show of authority” that “would have communicated to a reasonable person” in Delaney’s position “that he was not at liberty to ignore the police presence and go about his business.”

Read full case here: United States v. Delaney, 955 F.3d 1077, 1083 (D.C. Cir. 2020), https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-delaney-18/

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Police holding on to your driver’s license can constitute an illegal seizure under the 4th Amendment

For purposes of the Fourth Amendment, a seizure occurs when a law enforcement officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, in some way restrains the liberty of a citizen. Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429, 434 (1991). A police officer has restrained the liberty of the citizen if, “taking into account all of the circumstances surrounding the encounter, the police conduct would `have communicated to a reasonable person that he was not at liberty to ignore the police presence and go about his business.'” Id. at 437 (quoting California v. Hodari D., 499 U.S. 621, 628 (1991)).

When a law enforcement official retains control of a person’s identification papers, such as vehicle registration documents or a driver’s license, longer than necessary to ascertain that everything is in order, and initiates further inquiry while holding on to the needed papers, a reasonable person would not feel free to depart.

Read full case here: U.S. v. Chan-Jimenez, 125 F.3d 1324, 1326 (9th Cir. 1997), https://casetext.com/case/us-v-chan-jimenez/

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Awakened at 3am, handcuffed, led shoeless and dressed only in his underwear to the police station.

Kaupp was arrested within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment before the detectives began to question him. A seizure of the person within the meaning of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments occurs when, “taking into account all of the circumstances surrounding the encounter, the police conduct would ‘have communicated to a reasonable person that he was not at liberty to ignore the police presence and go about his business.”’ Florida v. Bostick, 501 U. S. 429, 437. This test is derived from Justice Stewart’s opinion in United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U. S. 544, 554, which includes, as examples of circumstances that might indicate a seizure, the threatening presence of several police officers, an officer’s display of a weapon, some physical touching of the person, or the use of language or tone of voice indicating that compliance with the officer’s request might be compelled. This Court has never sustained the involuntary removal of a suspect from his home to a police station and his detention there for investigative purposes absent probable cause or judicial authorization. The State does not claim to have had probable cause here, and an application of the test just mentioned shows that Kaupp was arrested, there being evidence of everyone of Mendenhall’s probative circumstances. A 17-year-old boy was awakened at 3 a.m. by at least three police officers, placed in handcuffs, and taken in his underwear and without shoes in a patrol car to the crime scene and then to the sheriff’s offices, where he was taken into an interrogation room and questioned. The contrary reasons mentioned by the state courts-his “Okay” response, that the sheriff’s office routinely handcuffed individuals when transporting them, and that Kaupp did not resist the handcuffs or act uncooperatively-are no answer to the facts here. Because Kaupp was arrested before he was questioned, and because the State does not claim that the sheriff’s department had probable cause to detain him at that point, his confession must be suppressed unless the State can show that it was an act of free will sufficient to purge the primary taint of the unlawful invasion. The only relevant consideration supporting the State is the observance of Miranda, but such warnings alone cannot always break the causal connection between the illegality and the confession, Brown v. Illinois, 422 U. S. 590, 603. All other relevant considerations-the temporal proximity of the arrest and the confession, the presence of intervening circumstances, and the official misconduct’s purpose and flagrancy-point the opposite way. Unless, on remand, the State can point to testimony undisclosed on this record, and weighty enough to carry its burden despite the clear force of the evidence here, the confession must be suppressed.

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Police block a one-lane driveway and not let the person leave the house. Illegal seizure of person.

On Sunday December 15, 1985 at 3:30 p.m., Deputy Sheriff Hedrick was on routine patrol in a rural neighborhood. Deputy Hedrick observed Kerr by a car parked near a barn located on a residential property. The car’s trunk was open, exposing cardboard boxes. Because he knew of several recent residential burglaries in the area, Deputy Hedrick made a U-turn, returning to the residence’s driveway. The driveway was a one lane dirt road approximately seventy to one hundred feet long. As Deputy Hedrick pulled into the driveway, Kerr was backing his car out. When he was approximately forty to fifty feet from the patrol car, Kerr left his own car and met Deputy Hedrick on foot. Without being asked, Kerr produced his birth certificate and vehicle registration and stated that he had no driver’s license. Deputy Hedrick questioned Kerr, investigated the premises and discovered a methamphetamine laboratory in the barn.

Kerr was indicted for three counts of drug offenses involving the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court denied Kerr’s motion to suppress the evidence collected as a result of his encounter with Deputy Hedrick, concluding that the encounter did not constitute a seizure within the meaning of the fourth amendment.

Not every encounter between the police and the public is entitled to fourth amendment protection. “Only when the officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, has in some way restrained the liberty of a citizen may we conclude that a `seizure’ has occurred.” Terry v. Ohio,392 U.S. 1, 19 n. 16, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1879 n. 16, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Because search and seizure issues arise in a myriad of fact patterns, the Supreme Court has not defined the precise point at which a fourth amendment seizure occurs. See United States v. Ward,488 F.2d 162, 169 (9th Cir. 1973) (en banc).

Under the circumstances, Deputy Hedrick’s authority and conduct provided Kerr with no reasonable alternative except an encounter with the police. Consequently, the encounter cannot be deemed voluntary. Voluntariness presupposes a freedom of choice that Kerr did not have. The district court’s suggestion that Kerr could have backed around the car or ignored Deputy Hedrick defies common sense; Kerr’s freedom to depart was restrained at the moment Deputy Hedrick blocked the one-lane driveway.

*I accidentally said the Supreme Court in the video. This is the 9th Circuit decision. My apologies for the confusion.

U.S. v. Kerr, 817 F.2d 1384 (9th Cir. 1987)

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Police “secured” the home & didn’t let the husband back inside after suspicious death of his wife

Following the unexpected death of Defendant Walt Shrum’s common law wife at the couple’s home around 5:30 a.m. on March 11, 2015, police officers in Kingman, Kansas “secured” the home, prohibiting Defendant access. Approximately three hours later and without access to his home, Defendant signed a consent to search form permitting an investigator from the Kingman County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) to enter his home for the express purpose of retrieving his deceased wife’s medication in anticipation of an autopsy. While in the home, the investigator saw ammunition in plain view inside an open bedroom closet. After returning to headquarters, the investigator learned Defendant was a convicted felon and recalled seeing the ammunition in the closet. Several hours later, the investigator, based on what he had seen and learned, contacted a federal agent and asked him to obtain a search warrant for Defendant’s home. A federal magistrate judge issued the warrant at 10:00 p.m. A late night search of the home, which local authorities still would not permit Defendant to access, uncovered not only the ammunition but also two loaded firearms and 4.4 grams of suspected methamphetamine.

A grand jury subsequently charged Defendant with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition, again in violation of § 922(g)(1), and one count of possessing methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 844(a). Following the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress the incriminating evidence used to charge him, Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. After receiving a sentence of time served, Defendant appealed the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress. Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. This appeal presents us with two questions: Did the initial securing of Defendant’s home constitute an unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment? And if so, did such seizure taint the incriminating evidence ultimately uncovered in the warrant search of his home? We answer both questions yes, and reverse.

Read full case here: United States v. Shrum, 908 F.3d 1219 (10th Cir. 2018), https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-shrum-3

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Did police illegally seize a luggage bag when they removed it from cargo area of the bus?

The Supreme Court held in United States v. Jacobsen, 466 U.S. 109, 104 S.Ct. 1652, 80 L.Ed.2d 85 (1984), that a Fourth Amendment “`seizure’ of property occurs when there is some meaningful interference with an individual’s possessory interests in that property.” Id. at 113, 104 S.Ct. 1652. In Va Lerie, this court, en banc, applied Jacobsen in the context presented by this case-property entrusted to a third-party common carrier. Va Lerie, 424 F.3d at 701-03, 708 n. 9. Va Lerie presents similar facts, and, thus, this case turns on whether Va Lerie, in which the en banc court concluded that a seizure did not occur, id. at 708-09, is distinguishable from this case.

In Va Lerie, the en banc court determined that law enforcement’s detention of property entrusted to a third-party common carrier constitutes a Fourth Amendment seizure only when the detention does any of the following: (1) “delay[s] a passenger’s travel or significantly impact[s] the passenger’s freedom of movement,” (2) “delay[s] [the checked luggage’s] timely delivery,” or (3) “deprive[s] the carrier of its custody of the checked luggage.” Id. at 707.

Full case here: U.S. v. Alvarez-Manzo, 570 F.3d 1070 (8th Cir. 2009), https://casetext.com/case/us-v-alvarez-manzo-3

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Can police go through your garbage left for collection outside your home WITHOUT A WARRANT?

Local police suspected Billy Greenwood was dealing drugs from his residence. Because the police did not have enough evidence for a warrant to search his home, they searched the garbage bags Greenwood had left at the curb for pickup. The police uncovered evidence of drug use, which was then used to obtain a warrant to search the house. That search turned up illegal substances, and Greenwood was arrested on felony charges.

Voting 6 to 2, the Court held that garbage placed at the curbside is unprotected by the Fourth Amendment. The Court argued that there was no reasonable expectation of privacy for trash on public streets “readily accessible to animals, children, scavengers, snoops, and other members of the public.” The Court also noted that the police cannot be expected to ignore criminal activity that can be observed by “any member of the public.”

Full case here: California v. Greenwood, 486 US 35 (1988), https://www.oyez.org/cases/1987/86-684

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