Other officers radioed the stopping officers that defendants\u2019 vehicle committed a traffic offense, and the officers conducted a felony stop ordering them out at gunpoint with hands up, then searching the car. There is nothing in the record supporting the search of the car or even the use of a Terry stop in this case, and the search is suppressed as unreasonable under any possible theory. The government\u2019s alternative argument of impoundment is treated as \u201ctoo little, too late\u201d [my words]. United States v. Bucannon, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 410 (S.D. Ohio January 3, 2014):<\/p>\n
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Because the seizure of Bucannon and Haggins was violative of their Fourth Amendment rights, the search of their vehicle is also violative of their Fourth Amendment rights. However, the Government argues that the evidence found during the search of their vehicle would have inevitably been discovered through a routine subsequent police inventory of the vehicle.<\/p>\n
The Government bases this argument on a Dayton Police Department General Order regarding Towing Motor Vehicles, a copy of which is attached to the Government’s Post-Hearing Brief Concerning Defendants’ Motions To Suppress. (Doc. #33.) There are at least three (3) problems with consideration of this alleged Policy. The first is that it was not submitted as evidence during the Hearing. The second is that it has not been authenticated. The third is the questionable inapplicability of the Policy. The Policy submitted indicates that it was revised “8\/13.” Assuming that “8\/13” refers to August of 2013, the Policy that was submitted was revised after the May 16, 2013 search. If the Policy was revised at some other time, the Court has no way of knowing if it was in effect at the time of the May 16, 2013 search.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Another question that should be asked is: Why did the feds indict this case with this bad a search? Hoping that they’d draw a sympathetic judge who’d not suppress something? Or was the AUSA presenting to the grand jury too obtuse to see this coming?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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