United States v. Hill

After defendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, he appealed the denial of his motion to suppress evidence of statements he made during a traffic stop and of a firearm that was seized during the stop. The court concluded that the district court did not err in denying the suppression motion, because the traffic stop did not exceed the time reasonably required to complete the tasks incident to the mission of the stop. The court reasoned that the Supreme Court's decision in Rodriguez v. United States did not require courts to second-guess the logistical choices and actions of a police officer that, individually and collectively, were completed diligently within the confines of a lawful traffic stop. In this case, the court held that because the evidence shows that the officers acted with reasonable diligence in executing the tasks incident to the traffic stop, and the stop was not impermissibly expanded in scope or time beyond the pursuit of the stop's mission, the district court did not err in denying defendant's motion to suppress. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Hill" on Justia Law