United States Ninth Circuit

In a prosecution for drug and firearm-related offenses, an order suppressing evidence obtained from a search of defendant's vehicle is reversed where: 1) the conclusion in US v. Mendez, 476 F.3d 1077 (9th Cir. 2007), that officers do not need reasonable suspicion to ask questions unrelated to the purpose of an initially lawful stop applied here because an officer's question and request for consent to search did not unreasonably prolong the duration of the stop; and 2) consequently, the stop was at all times a lawful detention and defendant's voluntary consent rendered the search legal.

Appellate Information

• Argued 08/08/2007
• Decided 02/26/2008
• Published 02/26/2008

Judges

• Before:  J. CLIFFORD WALLACE, JOHN T. NOONAN, and RICHARD A. PAEZ, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Nelson P. Cohen, United States Attorney, and David A. Nesbett, Assistant United States Attorney, District of Alaska, and Elizabeth A. Olson, Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for the appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Mary C. Geddes, Assistant Federal Defender, Anchorage, AK, for the appellees.