1. Was the gun in “plain view” and legally obtained?
2. Will the marijuana baggie be admissible evidence?
It is a challenge for officers to decide if they search and seizure is necessary. Officer Smith did have reason to pull the lady over because she had reasonable suspicion that this car fit the description of a recent road side kill of an officer. This gives Officer Smith the okay to pull the car over and see what is going on. I do not believe that Officer Smith’s actions did not infringe on the suspects fourth amendment rights, despite some questionable circumstances. Findlaw (2012, pargraph.1) The law states, “Under Traffic laws in all states all motor vehicles are required to have certain equipment to be installed and operating correctly.” Just like Terry v. Ohio where intrusiveness is minimal, the standard of reasonable suspicion is sufficient, just like we see in this stop. (Ch03 ppt) This stop was not based on instinct on Officer Smith was told that an older model gold Pontiac was recently spotted in a road side killing of a fellow officer so this gave her reason to believe that it was the same person that she pulled over. Officer Smith had evey reason to “pat down” the driver because of the possibility of weapons appropriate. The police officer had reason to believe this lady could have possibly harmed her so I do think that the pat down was reasonable. All police officers have the right to “pat someone down” if they have reasonable suspicion that the person may contain an individual who poses a danger to the officers or others. I do believe that Officer Smith had enough
