Moak: Criminal Justice Procedure, 8th Edition


Case Studies

Chapter 03: Arrests

James and three of his friends were hanging outside of the neighborhood convenience store after school as they do every day. After meeting at the store and talking for a few minutes, the young men decided to go inside and purchase some snacks and sodas. After their purchase, they young men walked back outside of the store and proceeded to sit on the sidewalk next to the side of the building to drink and eat their snacks. About 10 minutes later, an unmarked Chevy Impala pulled up and two plainclothes officers step out the car. The officers approached James and his three friends. Without saying a word the officers force the young men to face the wall behind them and the officers proceed to perform a pat down search of the teens for suspected weapons and drugs. After failing to discover any weapons or drugs, one of the officers begins to questions the young men about a robbery that took place several days earlier not far from the store. Not knowing anything about the robbery, the young men are confused as to why they were stopped and searched by the officers. The officers then stated that the robbery suspects from the robbery that occurred several days earlier were described as four teenage males. After talking with the young men for about 30 minutes the officers finally decided the boys knew nothing about the robbery and proceeded to get in their vehicle and drive away. The young men remained at the store.

Questions

  1. What case does this scenario relate to and why?

    Correct Answer

    Terry v. Ohio. In Terry, two men were stopped and frisked similar to the boys in this scenario.

  2. Did the officers have cause to question the young men about the robbery that had occurred in the are several days before?

    Correct Answer

    Yes. Officers may stop and questions citizens on the street as a duty to performing their job. Asking voluntary questions does not constitute an arrest.

  3. Did the officer have reasonable suspicion to pat down the boys?

    Correct Answer

    This is a difficult question to answer and may be debated in several ways. The officers patted down the boys on one description only: they were four young teenage males. The officers had no other reason to believe the boys could be connected to the crime, however, only reasonable suspicion is necessary to perform a stop and frisk. Additionally, the time the officers spent with the boys was limited in duration. This could be enough to validate the search of the boys.

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