Recent Updates
April 28, 2010
State Must Prove Defendant's Knowledge of Driver's License Suspension
April 13, 2010
Sentencing Commission Votes to Eliminate Recent Criminal History Points
October 15, 2009
Consent to search inside of vehicle does not extend to locked containers
October 14, 2009
Making phone calls to get drugs for personal use not a felony
October 07, 2009
Duval County schools agree to reduce number of students getting arrested
Police Encounters
July 13, 2009
Topic: Criminal
A great majority of our cases begin with a citizen encounter with a police officer. Knowledge of this area of the law is critical to assess whether a client has a claim to suppress evidence or statements gathered from the client. Suppression of evidence and statements is how most cases are resolved in our client's favor.
The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protects people and their property from unreasonable police intrusion. This means, that the government must have a legal justification before they can search or seize a person or their property. Under certain circumstances, a violation of these protections can result in the suppression of evidence, dropped charges, and release from jail.
According to the Florida Supreme Court, there are three levels of police-citizen encounters. The first level is a consensual encounter involving only minimal police contact. This would be like an officer seeing you on the street and walking over to talk to you. During this type of encounter, a person can talk to the officer or completely ignore him. And, because they are free to leave, the Fourth Amendment protections are not invoked. However, while this type of encounter is not protected, that can easily change if the officer's conduct or statements would make a reasonable person feel that they were not free to leave.
The second level of police-citizen encounters involves a Terry stop. This means that if a police officer has a reasonable suspicion that a person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime, he or she may "reasonably detain" a citizen temporarily. This type of stop is restricted by the Fourth Amendment and requires a well-founded, articulable suspicion of criminal activity. Mere suspicion is not enough.
The third level of police-citizen encounters involves an arrest, which must be supported by probable cause that a crime has been or is being committed.
This case is an important tool in the toolbox of the experienced defense attorney, who can use it to suppress evidence and even get charges dropped. For example, a defense attorney who understands the different types of encounters can argue that a consensual encounter was transformed into a seizure when a police officer placed his hand on his weapon and ordered his client to stop. He would argue that, because the officer "seized" his client, the Fourth Amendment was invoked and the officer needed a legal justification. If the officer did not have a justification, reasonable suspicion in this case, then any evidence obtained as a result of the stop would be inadmissible. Therefore, if the client was carrying a weapon or contraband and the officer found it, this evidence could not be used in court.
