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Furtive movements in car justified officer opening door when he stopped it

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officer was permitted to open defendant's car door after pulling him over because of defendant's furtive movements. United States v. King, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67351 (N.D. Ind. September 2, 2008): In sum, the circumstances of the traffic stop and the specific actions of the Defendant (unusual, furtive movement and refusal to obey the commands) formed a reasonable basis for Lichtsinn's belief that the Defendant was dangerous and may have possessed or was retrieving a weapon. As a consequence, the protective search that took the form of opening the passenger door was justified, and the act of opening the door was properly limited in time and scope. The Defendant has not established a basis to suppress the evidence recovered. Defendant's mother had apparent authority to use the computer in a computer bag, so she had apparent authority to open the pockets of the computer bag...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 07, 2008 (boomark / email).