Motion to Suppress

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Criminal

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: FLAUM, MANION, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Motion to Suppress

No.13-3715; 13-3727 United States of America v. Brian Wilbourn and Adam Sanders

Among multiple other issues, officer’s conduct during car stop was more akin to a warrantless arrest, therefore drugs seized as a result of the stop that ultimately led to conviction must be reversed.

“Reasonable suspicion must be “based on articulable facts” that the person stopped may be engaged in criminal activity. Terry, 392 U.S. at 21. An officer’s reasonable suspicion should be based on “the totality of the circumstances— the whole picture.” Sokolow, 490 U.S. at 8. Here, the record is devoid of any facts to suggest that Officers Schoenecker and Corlett had reason to suspect that the persons in the Buick had committed a crime. The key term is “articulable.” The government offered extensive evidence to establish that other officers had reason to suspect that the persons in the Buick had committed a crime. But it offered no evidence to suggest that anyone communicated any basis for these suspicions to Officers Schoenecker and Corlett. Because of this, neither officer was able to articulate any grounds to justify the stop. The purpose of a Terry stop is to provide law enforcement the opportunity to stop and question a person briefly when it believes that person may be committing or may have committed a crime. This was not a Terry stop; it was more akin to a warrantless arrest. The police stopped a car and immediately proceeded to remove a passenger, place him in custody in the back of a police car, and engage in a thorough search of the automobile. These actions might have been proper if the officers had probable cause to arrest someone in the car. As it was, the officers who made the stop failed to articulate any facts addressing reasonable suspicion, still less probable cause. For this reason, the stop did not conform to the precepts outlined in Terry and was invalid.”

Affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated in part

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.