U.S. v. Cole

In prosecution on drug distribution charges arising out of seizure of drugs during traffic stop, Dist. Ct. erred in denying defendant's motion to suppress seizure of drugs, where, even though stop was permissible at outset, record showed that officer impermissibly prolonged stop by over six minutes at start of stop by questioning defendant at length about subjects going well beyond legal justification for said stop in effort to investigate possible additional crimes. Record showed that: (1) arresting officer received tip from other officer that he needed to follow defendant's vehicle with intent to catch him in traffic violation to provide pretext for roadside stop because defendant was driving suspiciously; (2) arresting officer eventually pulled defendant over on charge of driving too closely to another vehicle; (3) arresting officer improperly used first six minutes of stop to question defendant about his state of residence, employment, travel history, travel plans, vehicle history and registration information; (4) arresting officer already had answers to some of said topics prior to instant stop; (5) arresting officer directed defendant to drive to different location, where he asked for first time questions about defendant's insurance; (6) arresting officer eventually issued warning ticket over 30 minutes after initial stop and then told defendant that he could not leave because he suspected that defendant was transporting drugs; and (7) dog arrived 10 minutes later and alerted to presence of drugs in vehicle. Fact that defendant gave inconsistent answers after initial delay did not require different result. (Dissent filed.)