Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the county police department alleging that a traffic stop violated his Fourth Amendment rights; specifically, that an initial protective frisk was unlawful, that the stop was unlawfully extended, and that the search of his person was not supported by probable cause. The district court granted partial summary judgment for plaintiff on his frisk and extended-search claims and defendant appealed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part, explaining that while it agreed with the district court that nothing in the record suggested that plaintiff was armed or dangerous during the stop there were genuine disputes of fact that could support a reasonable suspicion of a drug offense that would provide a constitutional justification for extending the stop. The Seventh Circuit therefore reversed the partial grant of summary judgment on the extended search claim and affirmed its grant of summary judgment on the unlawful-frisk claim and remanded for further proceedings. (EASTERBROOK and PRYOR, concurring)
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Extended Stop