United States Fourth Circuit

In a conviction for drug and firearms offenses, district court's denial of motion to suppress evidence found during a traffic stop and imposition of a 300-month prison term are affirmed where: 1) the traffic stop was supported by the officers' reasonable belief that defendant was speeding; 2) the stop was also justified by the district court's separate finding that defendant followed too closely behind the officer's patrol car; 3) the officers' actions following the traffic stop were reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that justified the stop; and 4) increasing the minimum sentence based on judicial factfinding does not evade the requirements of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/10/2012
• Published 08/10/2012

Judges

• Diaz

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel