United States Ninth Circuit

The fact of gang membership is not sufficient to generate a particularized, reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. A conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm is vacated where the district court erred in denying a motion to suppress evidence since defendant's Fourth Amendment rights were violated when he was subjected to interrogation by officers that exceeded the scope of the traffic stop at issue, and thus, a handgun seized from the car must be suppressed as the product of the unlawful questioning.

Appellate Information

• Argued 02/16/2006
• Decided 10/30/2006
• Published 10/30/2006

Judges

• Before STEPHEN REINHARDT, RICHARD A. PAEZ, and RICHARD C. TALLMAN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Jon M. Sands & Michael D. Gordon, Federal Public Defender, Phoenix, AZ, for the defendant-appellant., Paul K. Charlton, John Joseph Tuchi & Bill C. Solomon, United States Attorney, Phoenix, AZ, for the plaintiff-appellee.