Defendant was asked for consent to look for drugs during an otherwise valid traffic stop. The officer testified he was trained to ask the question just to see the response, and defendant became nervous. The request was reasonable, and defendant’s consent was valid. United States v. Lax, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71143 (W.D. Ky. September 24, 2007):<\/p>\n
In this case, Starks decided to ask Lax if there were any illegal substances or drugs in his vehicle, a question which was unrelated to the purpose of the stop-Lax’s failure to stop at a stop sign. Starks testified at the Suppression Hearing that he had been trained to ask that type of question during a traffic stop. When Starks mentioned drugs, Lax’s mannerisms became very suspicious. He began fidgeting and looked away when answering. Starks testified that in his experience, such a response usually indicates that something is wrong. Starks asked Lax for consent to search the vehicle, and Lax gave him verbal consent to do so. Starks did not threaten any kind of retaliation if Lax refused to answer his questions or objected to the search. Under these circumstances, Starks’ request was reasonable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Affidavit for warrant was sufficient for probable cause. The CI provided information of buys from defendant within the last 48 hours. “First hand observation of drug transactions constitutes a sufficient basis for the informant’s knowledge.” The officer stated that the informant had provided reliable information in the past without detailing it. Nevertheless, it was sufficient to show probable cause. United States v. Underwood, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71184 (E.D. N.C. May 26, 2007) (Comment:<\/em> This comes really close to just stating a conclusion that the informant is reliable. “In the instant case, the information [the officer] provided with respect to the informant’s past cooperative efforts is neither detailed nor the beacon of clarity. However, his submission under oath that the informant had in the past provided reliable information provided a basis from which the magistrate could deduce that the information provided by the CSI with respect to Underwood was reliable as well.”).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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