WA: It’s defendant’s burden to show a seizure occurred

“An appellant making an unconstitutional seizure claim has the burden of proving that a seizure occurred. … [¶] Here, Yang consented to Koster’s entry. Throughout their time in the house, Lucas and Koster told Ho what they were doing. They asked permission to interview N.Y. in his bedroom and stopped the interview when N.Y. said he did not want to speak anymore. They did not investigate the house, apart from the time spent in the entryway and living room talking to Yang and Ho, in N.Y.’s bedroom, and in the basement, after being led down there by Ho. Ho handed Koster the dowel. Koster and Lucas repeatedly asked Ho to take N.Y. to the hospital. Only after all of these events and after talking to Heitzman did Koster decide to arrest Ho. These facts provide sufficient evidence to support a conclusion that a reasonable person would feel she could terminate the interview or leave to a different room.” State v. Ho, 2019 Wash. App. LEXIS 713 (Mar. 26, 2019).

Officers had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant’s car based on location and description and erratic driving that it likely was involved in a shooting in the area. United States v. Jones, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49424 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 5, 2019).*

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