A pair of police officers might have lacked reasonable suspicion to stop behind a parked pickup and activate the lights on their cruiser. But the gun that the driver tossed during the encounter was abandoned and could come into evidence, ...

Tagged with: Federal Courts Judge Diana Gribbon Motz Search & Seizure

A peeling vehicle inspection sticker provided a reasonable suspicion to stop defendant’s vehicle as it emerged from an auto repair facility and defendant’s conviction for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute is affirmed by the Court of Appeals. The ...

Tagged with: Judge Marla Graff Decker Search & Seizure Virginia Court of Appeals

Police who had been authorized by a motel in a high-crime area to check for trespassers had reasonable suspicion to detain defendant, who was running from outside the motel into a nearby parking lot and fell when he reached for ...

Tagged with: Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Search & Seizure Virginia Court of Appeals

A divided 4th Circuit panel says police attempted to seize defendant when they angled their police vehicle behind his Silverado truck, turned on their emergency lights and emerged from the vehicle with guns drawn; however, since defendant did not accede ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Diana Gribbon Motz Search & Seizure

Although a police officer said he lied to the occupant of an apartment about having a search warrant in order to protect the woman who had rented the apartment and who sought police assistance in removing the man from her ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James A. Wynn Jr. Search & Seizure

A lie about the existence of a search warrant allowed a group of police officers to comb through an apartment and find crack cocaine and digital scales, leading to the conviction of one of the occupants after a federal judge ...

Tagged with: Federal Courts Judge James A. Wynn Jr. Search & Seizure

A split panel says a trial court did not err in applying the inevitable discovery doctrine to admit evidence of the drugs found on defendant’s person, and the Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s convictions of possession of cocaine and marijuana. ...

Tagged with: Judge Rudolph Bumgardner III Search & Seizure Virginia Court of Appeals

When defendant refused repeated orders to remove his hands from his pockets when police encountered him at night in a high-crime area, and one officer could see a “bulge on the right side” of defendant’s jacket, the officers had a ...

Tagged with: Judge Robert J. Humphreys Search & Seizure Virginia Court of Appeals

A defendant’s late-night travel toward North Carolina on a “known drug corridor” in a rental car due the next day in New Jersey did not provide reasonable, articulable suspicion for police to extend a traffic stop for speeding and use ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robert B. King Search & Seizure

A split panel says a trial court did not err in applying the inevitable discovery doctrine to admit evidence of the drugs found on defendant’s person, and the Court of Appeals affirms defendant’s convictions of possession of cocaine and marijuana. ...

Tagged with: Judge Rudolph Bumgardner III Search & Seizure Virginia Court of Appeals