The appellate court upheld all three frisks
The appellate court upheld all three frisks
Reaction from privacy pundits was swift
The officers collectively had reasonable suspicion to continue lawfully detaining Whitley
Court: “Failing to follow prison policy is not a constitutional violation in and of itself”
It was reasonable for officers to believe they would find the evidence in his car
Court: “While probable cause here may be difficult, qualified immunity is not”
The appellate court was free to follow its own directly controlling precedent on the private search doctrine
At the end of the day, the investigators followed the mantra, “Talk nice, think mean”
The court held that the trooper had reasonable suspicion to expand the investigation beyond the initial concern
Could the trooper have conducted the stop in some other way that might have allowed for a lawful detector dog sniff?
A concurring judge expressed great skepticism at the length of the stop
Relying on the latest research study to support a use of force tactic is risky