U.S. v. Simon

In prosecution on charge of unlawful possession of firearm by felon, Dist. Ct. did not err in denying defendant’s motion to possess seizure of gun that was found in defendant’s car, after defendant was stopped for failure to signal more than 100 feet ahead of turning at intersection, and after drug-sniffing dog alerted on defendant’s car while officers were gathering information and processing defendant’s ticket on traffic infraction. Dist. Ct. could properly believe officers who stated that they saw defendant turn without signaling at least 100 feet from intersection, so as to justify instant stop, and Ct. rejected defendant’s argument that: (1) officers prolonged instant 7-minute stop for purposes of allowing dog to compete sniff test; and (2) dog, who rendered false alert for presence of drugs, had been improperly trained, which, in turn, undermined finding of probable cause to search defendant’s car.