CA10: Reasonable suspicion dissipated, and the vehicle was detained too long

This forfeiture is remanded on a 2-1 vote because the stop was continued too long, but the two votes are slightly different. “On appeal, all panel members agree that the initial stop was justified at its inception. But Judge Phillips and Judge Ebel both vote to reverse the district court’s order denying suppression. Judge Phillips reasons that reasonable suspicion of any registration offenses (expired, fake, or stolen license plates or registration tabs) dissipated when the trooper learned or should have learned that the State of Missouri had issued the plate and its registration tab within two weeks of the traffic stop; and that any reasonable suspicion that Wiley’s truck was stolen dissipated when Wiley handed the trooper his ‘original motor vehicle title receipt.’ Although Judge Phillips agrees with Chief Judge Briscoe that the trooper had reasonable suspicion of illegal drug activity by the end of the stop, Judge Phillips reasons that the government cannot rely on the key facts suggesting illegal drug activity because the trooper learned those facts after Wiley was entitled to be released. Judge Ebel reasons that reasonable suspicion continued up to the point that the trooper returned Wiley’s driving documents and told Wiley he was free to leave. But Judge Ebel reasons that the trooper lacked reasonable suspicion of illegal drug activity before continuing to detain Wiley in order to deploy the drug dog. Chief Judge Briscoe dissents, reasoning that the trooper had reasonable suspicion of a registration-related offense up until he returned Wiley’s driving documents and further that by then he had a separate reasonable suspicion of illegal drug activity. Accordingly, because two judges vote to suppress the evidence seized from the truck, we REVERSE the district court’s order denying suppression and REMAND for further proceedings.” United States v. $85,688.00 in United States Currency, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 16639 (10th Cir. August 28, 2014).