Summary
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the denial of D.R.B.’s motion to suppress drug paraphernalia discovered during a pat-down search. The court held that the officer had particularized suspicion for the investigative stop, did not exceed its scope, and had reasonable cause to frisk D.R.B. for weapons.
Holdings
- Officer Carson had particularized suspicion to support the investigative stop because she observed objective circumstances suggesting that D.R.B. might be stealing a license plate and, upon recognizing him, knew that he did not reside at the location or own a vehicle.
- Officer Carson did not exceed the scope of the investigative stop by conducting a pat-down search for weapons.
- Officer Carson had reasonable cause to conduct a frisk of D.R.B. for weapons.
Questions Presented
- Whether Officer Carson had particularized suspicion to conduct an investigative stop of D.R.B.
- Whether Officer Carson exceeded the scope of the investigative stop by conducting a pat-down search.
- Whether Officer Carson had reasonable cause to frisk D.R.B. for weapons.
Disposition
affirmed
Cases Cited (7)
- State v. Logan, 2002 MT 206, 311 Mont. 239, 53 P.3d 1285(followed)
- State v. Gopher, 193 Mont. 189, 631 P.2d 293 (1981)(followed)
- United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 101 S. Ct. 690, 66 L. Ed. 2d 621 (1981)(followed)
- State v. Morsette, 201 Mont. 233, 654 P.2d 503 (1982)(followed)
- Hulse v. State, Department of Justice, 1998 MT 108, 289 Mont. 1, 961 P.2d 75(followed)
- State v. Dawson, 1999 MT 171, 295 Mont. 212, 983 P.2d 916(distinguished)
- State v. Collard, 286 Mont. 185, 951 P.2d 56 (1997)(followed)
Cited In (0)
No citing cases on record yet.
Court Document
Open PDFLoading document…