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Fourth Circuit Holds Officer’s Firearms Questioning at Outset of Traffic Stop Exceeded Permissible Scope Where Officer Abandoned Stop’s Purpose From Inception and Totality of Circumstances Did Not Support Officer-Safety Justification
Loaded on May 1, 2026
by David Kim
published in Criminal Legal News
June, 2026, page 38
Filed under:
Motions To Suppress,
Reasonable Suspicion,
Traffic Stops,
Suppression,
Scope of Permissible Searches.
Location:
West Virginia.
by David Kim
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the denial of a defendant’s motion to suppress and vacated his guilty plea, holding that a U.S. Forest Service officer exceeded the permissible scope of a traffic stop by abandoning the stop’s stated purpose …
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More from this issue:
- Beyond Geofence Warrants: Chatrie, Reverse-Location Surveillance, and the Fourth Amendment Fight Over Digital Dragnets, by Richard Resch
- New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Historical CSLI Must Be Presented Through Expert Testimony, Rejecting Lay Mapping of Cell-Tower Locations Because Interpreting CSLI Requires Technical and Specialized Knowledge Beyond “Ken” of Average Juror, by David Kim
- First Circuit Vacates Drug Courier’s Sentence, Holding District Court Erred by Failing to Conduct Proper Comparative Culpability Analysis Under § 3B1.2 When It Excluded Other Participants in Drug Shipment From Universe of Comparators, by David M. Reutter
- Chronotype Mismatch as an Emerging Vulnerability Factor in Custodial Confessions, by David Kim
- Fourth Circuit Announces Defendant Has Standing to Appeal Based Solely on Rogers–Singletary Claim of a “Material Discrepancy Between” Written and Orally Articulated Judgment at Sentencing, by Douglas Ankney
- Oregon Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Must Give Complete Oral Final Jury Instructions at Conclusion of Trial, Preliminary Instructions Cannot Substitute for the ORCP 59 B Charge, by David Kim
- Sixth Circuit Announces Federal Coercion and Enticement Statute Requires Knowledge of Victim’s Minor Status, Deepening Circuit Split, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Supreme Court Holds Prosecutor’s Interlocutory Appeal of Evidentiary Ruling Lacked Arguable Merit, Did Not Toll Speedy Trial Deadline, and Violated Defendant’s Right to Speedy Trial, by David Kim
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Grand Jury No-Bill Terminated Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel, Clarifies Frye Exception, by David Kim
- Fourth Circuit Holds Officer’s Firearms Questioning at Outset of Traffic Stop Exceeded Permissible Scope Where Officer Abandoned Stop’s Purpose From Inception and Totality of Circumstances Did Not Support Officer-Safety Justification, by David Kim
- Uncounted COVID Deaths Reveal a Troubling Truth About Official Death Records, by Jo Ellen Nott
- The Recycled Police Officer: Research Reveals High Cost of Ignoring Prior Misconduct, by Jo Ellen Nott
- California Supreme Court Announces § 189(e)(2) Requires Nonkiller to Aid the Actual Killer in the Lethal Act, Resolving Appellate Split, by David Kim
- Colorado Limits the Use of Faulty Field Drug Tests, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces That Warrantless-Arrest Statutes Conditioning Authority on an Offense Within an Officer’s “Presence or View” Require Actual Contemporaneous Sensory Perception, by David Kim
- Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Due Process Risks of Automated Traffic Enforcement, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Louisiana Supreme Court Announces Strickland Governs Collateral Claims That Defense Counsel Prevented Defendant From Testifying, by David Kim
- Delaware Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ABA Standard 3-6.5(b) Governing Prosecutors’ Opening Statements, Reverses Murder Convictions Based on Prosecutor’s References to Co-Defendant’s Guilty Plea, by Douglas Ankney
- Connecticut Supreme Court Announces Extension of Brady Obligations to Same-Office Impeachment Evidence, by David Kim
- NEWS IN BRIEF
More from David Kim:
- Ninth Circuit Holds Martinez May Excuse Nevada’s Timeliness and Successive-Petition Bars for Trial Ineffective Assistance Claims, Oct. 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Announces Valid Checks Alone Insufficient for § 1344(2) Bank Fraud, Holding Alleged Failure to Disclose Plausible Defense Warrants § 2255 Hearing, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Announces Concealed Firearm Possession Alone Insufficient for Reasonable Suspicion Under Florida’s Amended Concealed-Carry Law, Oct. 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Announces Resentencing After Probation Revocation Must Begin with Chapter 7 Range, Holding Chapter 5 Range Should Be Considered When Deciding Whether to Vary, Sept. 1, 2026
- Hawaii Supreme Court Announces False Evidence Standard Governs Post-Conviction Claims That Scientific Developments Invalidated Expert Testimony, Holding Prosecution Knowledge Not Required Under State Due Process Clause, Sept. 1, 2026
- Alaska Supreme Court Announces “Stop and Clarify” Rule Under Article I, Sections 9 and 11 of Alaska Constitution, Holding Officers Must Cease Questioning and Clarify Ambiguous Post-Waiver Request for Counsel, Sept. 1, 2026
- California Supreme Court Announces Article I, Section 28(f)(3) Does Not Authorize Denial of Bail Beyond Offenses Specified in Section 12, Holding Bail Must Generally Be Set in Amount Reasonably Attainable for Defendant, Sept. 1, 2026
- Connecticut Supreme Court Holds Trial Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Challenge Misleading CSLI GeoTime Video, Sept. 1, 2026
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces Two-Step Test for Mandatory LWOP Imposed for Pre-Aaron Felony Murder, Sept. 1, 2026
- Buried in Plain Sight: How Digital Discovery Turns Disclosure Itself Into Concealment, Aug. 15, 2026
More from these topics:
- Eleventh Circuit Announces Concealed Firearm Possession Alone Insufficient for Reasonable Suspicion Under Florida’s Amended Concealed-Carry Law, Oct. 1, 2026. Reasonable Suspicion, Gun Laws/Crimes, Exclusionary Rule, Terry Stops.
- Seventh Circuit Announces Courts May Examine Individual Officer’s Subjective Purpose When Assessing Whether Warrantless Administrative Inspection Was Pretextual, Holding Suppression Required Where Trooper’s Sole Motive for Stop Was Criminal Investigati, Aug. 1, 2026. Warrantless Searches, Exception to Warrant Requirement, Pretextual Stops, Searches - Administrative, Suppression.
- New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Article II, Section 10 Exclusionary Rule Governs Admissibility of Evidence Seized Outside State by Non-New Mexico Officers, Aug. 1, 2026. Warrantless Searches, Conflict of Laws/Decisions, State Constitutional Claims, Suppression, Exclusionary Rule.
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Totality-of-the-Circumstances Good-Cause Standard Governing State Motions to Continue Based on Witness Unavailability, Aug. 1, 2026. Motions To Suppress, Speedy Trial Clock - Tolling of, Periods of Delay, Excludable Time.
- Supreme Court of Maryland Holds Officer Lacked Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop Based on Acquaintance’s Tip Reporting Innocent Conduct, Reaffirming That “High-Crime Area” Testimony Must Be Particularized, July 1, 2026. Traffic stop, Motions To Suppress, Informants and Paid Witnesses, Reasonable Suspicion, Terry Stops.
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Holds Trial Court Failed to Consider HAWJIC 3.19A Factors and “Effect of Suggestiveness on Reliability” When Evaluating Field Show-Up Identifications, July 1, 2026. witness misidentification, Motions To Suppress, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Suppression of Identity Evidence, Eyewitness Identification.
- California Court of Appeal: Vehicle Impoundment Solely to Prevent Further Unlicensed Driving Does Not Satisfy Fourth Amendment’s Community Caretaking Exception; Statutory Authorization Alone Insufficient to Establish Constitutional Reasonableness, June 1, 2026. Warrantless Searches, Motions To Suppress, Searches - Inventory, Community Caretaking Exception/Doctrine, Seizure.
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Totality-of-the-Circumstances Framework for Evaluating Delayed Traffic Stops Under Article 14, Holding 24-Hour Gap Between Observed Infraction and Vehicle Stop Was Unreasonable, June 1, 2026. Motions To Suppress, State Constitutional Claims, Seizure, Pretextual Stops, Traffic Stops.
- Fourth Circuit Announces Defendant Has Standing to Appeal Based Solely on Rogers–Singletary Claim of a “Material Discrepancy Between” Written and Orally Articulated Judgment at Sentencing, May 1, 2026. Failure to Object, Appealable Issues/Orders, Warrantless Searches, Reasonable Suspicion, Special Conditions.
- Oregon Supreme Court Announces Article I, Section 9, of State Constitution Protects Privacy in Internet Browsing Conducted Over Public Wi-Fi Networks, April 1, 2026. Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance, State Constitutional Claims, Suppression.





