United States Seventh Circuit

In a prosecution of defendant for possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. section 841(a)(1), district court's refusal to suppress cocaine that officers pulled from defendant's person is affirmed where: 1) the district court was entitled to conclude that the officer had handed off responsibility for defendant to his partner, and to reject the hypothesis that the officer had concluded his frisk and was satisfied that defendant had no weapon; and 2) whether an officer has a reasonable suspicion to support a Terry frisk is a "fact-specific" inquiry that looks at the "totality of the circumstances" in light of "common sense and practicality," and the proper way to view this encounter with the police is as a single event, not two or three different stages.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/25/2010
• Decided 08/10/2010
• Published 08/10/2010

Judges

• WOOD

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel