United States Fourth Circuit

Conviction of defendant for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and a sentence of a mandatory term of life imprisonment, are affirmed where: 1) the objective facts facing the trooper created a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and he was therefore justified, under Terry and its progeny, in extending the stop for the brief period necessary to allay that suspicion; 2) district court's finding that a drug-detection dog jumped in the open driver-side window of her own accord and was not commanded by her handler to do so was supported by testimony at the suppression hearing, as well as by the videotape, and therefore was not clearly erroneous; 3) the questions posed by the trooper during the traffic stop that were unrelated to the basis for the stop did nothing to diminish the stop's constitutionality, given that they caused only a brief delay; and 4) defendant has failed to carry his burden of demonstrating that the prior convictions were uncounseled.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/13/2010
• Decided 12/08/2010
• Published 12/08/2010

Judges

• NIEMEYER

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Jeffrey Michael Brandt, Jeffrey Mikell Johnson