Seizures, Stop-and-Frisk

Seizures: Stop-and-Frisk  The Fourth Amendment allows police to briefly detain (“stop”) a person based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity (Terry). o Police officers may perform a limited search for weapons of a person’s outer clothing when they have a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the person may be armed and presently dangerous, regardless of whether there is probable cause for an arrest (Terry). o Temporary investigative detention of effects (e.g. luggage) based on reasonable suspicion is also permissible (Place).  The Fourth Amendment does not prohibit law enforcement from temporarily detaining personal luggage for exposure to a trained narcotics detection dogs based in a reasonable suspicion that the luggage contains narcotics. However, the seizure must be properly limited in scope (Place).  Once a person is lawfully stopped, the police may conduct a protective pat-down (“frisk”) based on the reasonable suspicion that the individual is armed and dangerous (Terry).  There is no rigid time limit for a stop, although its duration must be reasonable in light of its purpose and the means of the investigation. The police must be diligent in confirming, or dispelling, their suspicions (Sharpe). o An investigatory detention must be temporary and last no long than necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop. The reasonableness of the detention’s duration is measured by the diligence of the police pursuing the investigation.  A state statute that makes it a crime for legally stopped persons to refuse to provide their names does not violate the Fourth Amendment (Hiibel). o A state law requiring a suspect to disclose their name during a valid Terry stop does not violate the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, or the Fifth Amendment’s protection against selfincrimination, unless the suspect reasonably believes that their name would be used to incriminate himself/herself (Hiibel).  Under the Fourth Amendment, the stop is a seizure, and the frisk is a search. o The only justification for a frisk is that the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the individual is dangerous and that by searching, they can protect themselves and those around them. o Even if they reasonably suspect that there is something in a pocket that is evidence of a crime, they cannot reach into the pocket without probable cause.