{"id":1842,"date":"2008-12-23T17:53:34","date_gmt":"2008-03-02T09:13:10","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-03-02T09:13:10","slug":"en-US","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=1842","title":{"rendered":"NM: Nervousness alone is not reasonable suspicion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nervousness is not enough to extend a traffic stop because it is not reasonable suspicion. State v. Sewell<\/a>, 2008 NMCA 26, 143 N.M. 485, 177 P.3d 536 (2008), certiorari granted, 180 P.3d 674 (N.M. 2008):<\/p>\n

[*30] We also have to consider the government’s justification when considering whether the detention was unreasonable. Robbs<\/em>, 2006 NMCA 61, AP 21. In doing so, we note that we agree with Justice Marshall’s concurring opinion in Sharpe<\/em><\/a>. <\/p>\n

Regardless how efficient it may be for law enforcement officials to engage in prolonged questioning to investigate a crime, or how reasonable in light of law enforcement objectives it may be to detain a suspect until various inquiries can be made and answered, a seizure that in duration, scope, or means goes beyond the bounds of Terry cannot be reconciled with the Fourth Amendment in the absence of probable cause. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sharpe<\/em>, 470 U.S. at 691 (Marshall, J., concurring). This case is the portrayal of what Justice Marshall was talking about: a detention based on reasonable suspicion for legitimate government purposes. However, as further indicated by Justice Marshall, Fourth Amendment rights are too sacred to be dismissed solely on the basis of a Fourth Amendment exception: the Terry<\/em><\/a> stop. Id<\/em>. at 691-92. “A stop can also be unduly intrusive if the individual is moved or asked to move more than a short distance, if a search is more extensive than necessary to protect the police from an objective fear of danger, or if tactics amounting to custodial interrogation are used.” Id.<\/em> at 692 n.2. We believe that the stop in this case exceeded the government’s interests and purposes. <\/p>\n

[*31] To further detain the subjects of the investigation was to extend the government’s intrusion beyond the permissible limits imposed by the Constitution. Even viewing the totality of the circumstances in the light most favorable to the district court’s findings, further detention was not warranted under the circumstances, and the evidence is the “fruit of the poisonous tree.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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