U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Constitutional Right to Be Free From Unreasonable Seizure

NCJ Number
130368
Journal
Crime to Court (May 1991) Pages: 13-14
Author(s)
J C Coleman
Date Published
1991
Length
2 pages
Annotation
The constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures is addressed through analysis of relevant court cases.
Abstract
In the case, United States v. Walker, U.S. District Court (Utah), 1990, the defendant brought a motion to suppress evidence allegedly obtained in violation of the fourth and fourteenth amendments. The motion was heard and evidence was taken. In United States v. Guzman, 864 F2d 1512, a Federal court of appeals addressed the issue of offensive questions asked by a traffic officer during a routine stop. The court recognized the fact that the district court deemed these intrusive questions that the ordinary citizen would find offensive. Nervousness, combined with other facts, can establish reasonable suspicion of other crime justifying further questioning of a motorist, as determined in United States v. Grillo, 705 FS 576. In the case, Colorado v. Bannister, 449 U.S. 1 (Note 3), the court found that the stopping of a vehicle and the detention of its occupants constitutes a "seizure" within the meaning of the fourth amendment.