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W.D.Tex.: Refusal to consent cannot be a factor in reasonable suspicion

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Refusal to consent here was considered by the officer a factor in reasonable suspicion, and this makes it unreasonable because the other factors failed, too. United States v. Jackson, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110898 (W.D. Tex. October 13, 2010): Refusal to consent to a search does not provide reasonable suspicion to justify a stop or continued detention. United States v. Machuca-Barrera, 261 F.3d 425, 435 n.32 (5th Cir. 2001) (citing United States v. Hunnicutt, 135 F.3d 1345, 1350-51 (10th Cir. 1998) (“[I]t would make a mockery of the reasonable suspicion and probable cause requirements ... if citizens’ insistence that searches and seizures be conducted in conformity with constitutional norms could create the suspicion or cause that renders their consent unnecessary...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on October 23, 2010 (boomark / email).