Category: Drug Interdiction

The unanimous court opinion cited numerous similar decisions from other state and federal courts

The appellate court held the stop and ensuing search were lawful

Betts argued the trooper lacked reasonable suspicion to extend the traffic stop

Esqueda relied on the Supreme Court’s property-based, trespassory test

“A police officer is not entitled to arbitrarily breach these agreements.”

In conducting the actual inventory search of Nielsen’s vehicle, the officers followed policies exactly

“Reasonable suspicion requires only that the officer have ‘a moderate chance’ of finding evidence of illegality”

Officers drafting affidavits for search warrants should endeavor to specify all areas to be searched

The court concluded it was a single act of negligence that caused Zahn’s recalled warrant to remain in the file

“Reasonableness—rather than efficiency—is the touchstone of the Fourth Amendment.”