Motion to Suppress – 4th Amendment

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Joshua J. Hams

Case No.: 2015AP2656

Officials: BLANCHARD, J.

Focus: Motion to Suppress – 4^th Amendment

Joshua Hams appeals a judgment of conviction for possession of tetrahydrocannabinols, THC, in the form of hashish oil.  The judgment was entered following Hams’s plea, after the circuit court denied his motion to suppress evidence obtained after an officer extended a traffic stop briefly to pursue concerns based on apparently abnormally nervous behavior by Hams and the driver of the vehicle that Hams was riding in at the time. Hams concedes on appeal that the challenged evidence was obtained following a lawful stop based on dark-tinted windows and a loud muffler, and further concedes that it was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment for the deputy to ask the driver and Hams at the outset of the stop whether any drugs or weapons were present. Hams argues that the deputy lacked reasonable suspicion to extend the stop thereafter, by asking the driver to step out of his vehicle for a brief discussion to satisfy the deputy’s concerns based on the appearance of abnormally nervous behavior. Applying precedent that includes State v. Sumner, 2008 WI 94, ¶38, 312 Wis. 2d 292, 752 N.W.2d 783, and State v. Gaulrapp, 207 Wis. 2d 600, 558 N.W.2d 696 (Ct. App. 1996), I conclude that the extension of the stop that involved asking the driver to get out of his vehicle for a brief discussion was reasonable under the circumstances, and accordingly affirm.

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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.