Chapter Five – Stop and Frisk
and Stationhouse Detention
Rolando V. del Carmen
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 The Leading Case in Stop and Frisk Terry
v. Ohio (1968)
– The Guidelines
• Stop
• Frisk
– The need for Reasonable Suspicion
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Stop and Frisk: Two Separate Acts
– The Stop – Brown v. Texas (1979)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 When is a Stop a Seizure Under the
Fourth Amendment?
– United States v. Mendenhall (1980)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Does Unprovoked Flight upon Seeing the
Police Constitute Reasonable Suspicion?
– Illinois v. Wardlaw (2000)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Are Stops based on Hearsay Information
Valid?
– Adams v. Williams (1972)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Is Information Based on a Flyer from
Another Jurisdiction Sufficient for a
Stop?
– United States v. Hensley (1985)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Are Stops Based on a Drug Courier
Profile Alone Valid?
– United States v. Sokolow (1989)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Are Stops Based on a Racial Profile Alone
Valid?
– DWB
– DWH
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Are Stops Based on Race Alone Valid?
– Brown v. Oneonta (2nd Circuit 1999)
– United States v. Travis (6th Circuit 1995)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Can Suspects Who are Stopped be
Forced to Answer Questions?
– Florida v. Royer (1983)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Can a Person who is Stopped Be Forced
to Identify Oneself?
– Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of
Nevada (2004)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 What Are the Reasonable Scope and
Duration of a Stop?
– United States v. Place (1983)
– United States v. Luckett (1973)
– United States v. Sharpe (1985)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Are Airport Stops and Searches
Valid?
– Torbet v. United Airlines, Inc. (2002)
– United States v. Pulido-Baquerizo (9th Cir.
1986)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 What Degree of Intrusiveness is
Permissible?
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Stop and Frisk: Two Separate Acts
– The Frisk
• A frisk has only one purpose: the protection of
the officer or of others
– United States v. Cortez (1981)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 What is the Extent of the Frisk?
– United States v. Robinson (1973)
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 What Can an Office Do and Not Do
During a Frisk?
– Minnesota v. Dickerson (1993)
• “Plain Feel”
• Immediately Apparent
– What Constitutes Plain Touch?
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Are “Fishing Expeditions” for Evidence
Allowed?
– A frisk for any other reason than the protection
of the officer or others is illegal
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Is Consent to Frisk Based on Submission
to Police Authority Valid?
– A frisk based on submission to police authority
is not voluntary and intelligent
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Can an Officer Frisk After a Stop
Without asking Questions?
– Reasonable Inquiries
 Does a Frisk Include Things Carried by
the Suspect?
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
Table 5.1
The Distinctions Between Stop and Frisk and Arrest
Stop and Frisk
Arrest
Degree of Certainty
Needed
Reasonable Suspicion
Probable Cause
Extent of Intrusion
Pat-Down for Weapons
Full body search
Purpose
Stop: to prevent criminal
activity
Frisk: to ensure the safety of
officers and others
To take the person into
custody or to determine if
a crime has taken place
Warrant
Not Needed
In custody until legally
released
Force allowed
Stop: None
Frisk: Pat-down
Reasonable
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Other Applications of Stop and Frisk
– Application to Motor Vehicles – Pennsylvania v.
Mimms (1977)
– Application to Weapons in a Car
– Application to Residences
Stop and Frisk and Stationhouse Detention
 Stationhouse Detention
– For Fingerprinting
• Davis v. Mississippi (1969)
• Hayes v. Florida (1985)
– For Interrogation
• Dunaway v. New York (1979)