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S.D. Iowa: Just removing a suitcase from the back of a taxicab was a seizure

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officer's removing of defendant's gym bag from a taxicab was a seizure because it was a meaningful interference with his interest in the property. An interference could have by justified by reasonable suspicion in a proper case, and there was none here. United States v. Allison, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67961 (S.D. Iowa July 24, 2009): The threshold question, then, is whether Deputy Hedgecock meaningfully interfered with Defendant's possessory interests in the gym bag when he removed it from the taxicab. The Supreme Court has noted that removal of an individual's luggage to another location constitutes a "substantial intrusion on [the individual's] possessory interests." United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 710 n.9, 103 S. Ct. 2637, 77 L. Ed...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 08, 2009 (boomark / email).