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NM: Defendant's 15 minute detention in handcuffs while SW was being executed was reasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant was present when the search warrant was executed and he was handcuffed. Fifteen minutes into the search, he was searched too. The search warrant was diligently being pursued, and the search of his person was not unreasonable because of the length of the detention. State v. Winton, 2010 NMCA 20, 2009 N.M. App. LEXIS 294 (November 18, 2009), certiorari denied, January 6, 2010, No. 32,089. Defendant was seen fumbling around in his car when stopped, and the officer got him out. His belt was undone and his shirttail was protruding through the fly. The officer had reasonable suspicion, and he was justified in looking where the shirttail was coming from. State v. Williams, 2010 NMCA 30, 2010 N.M. App. LEXIS 44 (February 8, 2010), certiorari granted, April 1, 2010, No...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 01, 2010 (boomark / email).