U.S. v. Martinez

Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to possessing with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. On appeal, defendant challenged the constitutionality of the traffic stop that gave rise to his arrest, arguing that it was a pretextual administrative inspection in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded, agreeing with defendant that the evidence demonstrated that the stop was pretextual and that the government had not met its burden of demonstrating that the stop was justified in its inception. (SCUDDER, concurring, and KIRSCH, dissenting)