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CA6: Defendant was unlawfully seized essentially "hop[ing] that something might turn up" and it did and was suppressed

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Singling defendant out in a group of four or five, two officers approached him and accused him of a crime. This was a seizure because a reasonable person would not feel free to disengage from it. Applying the Brown attenuation factors, defendant’s statement is suppressed. United States v. Williams, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16301, 2010 FED App. 0234P (6th Cir. August 6, 2010): Finally, although Vass's misconduct was not flagrant, his purpose weighs against attenuation. The Supreme Court has explained that the purposefulness factor is met when the unlawful action is investigatory, that is, when officers unlawfully seize a defendant "in the hope that something might turn up." Brown, 422 U.S. at 605; Shaw, 464 F.3d at 630-31. The purpose of stopping Williams was to seek evidence against him, and toward that end Vass immediately asked several questions related to criminal activity other than trespassing...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 09, 2010 (boomark / email).