 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Nieves11/15/2004
This case requires us to consider whether a strip search conducted incident to a lawful arrest for a minor traffic offense is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. We conclude that, under the circumstances of this case, the strip search conducted incident to arrest for a minor traffic offense was unreasonable, and thus, violative of the Fourth Amendment.
I. Background
A. Facts
On January 22, 2002, at approximately 7:45a.m., Officers Jason Ackerman and Jason Dietz of the Hagerstown Police Department, were on patrol in their vehicle, in the area of Wakefield Road and West Franklin Street. They had stopped their vehicle approximately six feet behind a burgundy Toyota Takoma truck, which was sitting at the intersection stop sign. While the officers were behind the truck, they noticed that the driver, later identified as Chris Nieves, was having "some kind of problem around the shifting area." The truck then began to drift back, "as if the clutch was engaged and it wasn't in gear," and struck the officers' vehicle. Officer Ackerman got out of the patrol car, approached Nieves, and asked Nieves, the sole occupant of the truck, for a valid driver's license. Nieves responded that he did not possess a valid driver's license in any state or any photo identification.
After the officers reported the accident to police dispatch, they learned that the truck was registered to a female who had been reported missing by her parents ten days earlier. In response to their question about his identity, Nieves replied that his name was "Nathan Nieves" and that his birth date was June 26, 1976. A subsequent search of police records failed to identify any person under that name. During the encounter, Nieves appeared "calm and relaxed" to the officers.
A third police officer, Jason Batistig, arrived at the scene within a matter of minutes, pursuant to police department policy, in order to investigate the accident involving the police patrol car. Officers Batistig and Dietz began to question Nieves about his identity and the truck's ownership. When asked again by the officers for his identity, Nieves supplied the same birth date but instead gave a different first name, "Chris," with the same last name. The dispatcher ran a search for "Chris Nieves" and found that Nieves' driving privileges were suspended and that a state identification card had been issued to him. When asked how he came to be in possession of the truck, Nieves responded that "he got it from a guy named Mike" from West Virginia. Officer Batistig stated that Nieves was then a little nervous, fidgety, and evasive during the interrogation. Nieves was placed under arrest for giving false information to the police and for obstructing a police officer.
Nieves consented to a pat down, after Officer Ackerman requested permission, to insure that Nieves did not have weapons, because a crime could have been committed in light of the fact that a "female was missing." During the pat down, Officer Ackerman found a roll of money totaling $377.00 in Nieves' pocket. The officers then searched the truck that Nieves was driving and found no contraband or weapons. Officer Batistig thereafter transported Nieves to the police station.
*2 After Officer Batistig and Nieves arrived at the Hagerstown police station, they were met by Lieutenant Richard Johnson, who was investigating the disappearance of Melissa Langdon, the registered owner of the truck Nieves was driving. Based upon information provided by Langdon's parents, Lieutenant Johnson was aware that Langdon's disappearance was allegedly linked to drugs. Lieutenant Johnson immediately recognized Nieves as having been arrested twice in the year 2000 for drug offenses. [FN1] Although not aware of the $377.00 found on Nieves' person, Lieutenant Johnson
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Maryland DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|