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Abstract
| Argument: |
Tuesday, February 29, 2000
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| Decision: |
Tuesday, March 28, 2000 |
| Issues: |
Criminal Procedure, Search and Seizure |
| Categories: |
criminal procedure, fourth amendment, searches and seizures |
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Advocates
| Irving L. Gornstein |
(Argued the cause for the United States, as amicus curiae, by special leave of court, supporting the petitioner) |
| Michael J. Neimand |
(Fort Lauderdale, Florida, argued the cause for the petitioner) |
| Harvey J. Sepler |
(Miami, Florida, argued the cause for respondent) |
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Facts of the Case
After an anonymous caller reported to the Miami-Dade Police that a young black male standing at a particular bus stop and wearing a plaid shirt was carrying a gun, officers went to the bus stop and saw three black males, one of whom, J.L., was wearing a plaid shirt. Apart from the tip, the officers had no reason to suspect any of the three of illegal conduct. The officers did not see a firearm or observe any unusual movements. One of the officers frisked J.L. and seized a gun from his pocket. J.L., who was then almost 16, was charged under state law with carrying a concealed firearm without a license and possessing a firearm while under the age of 18. The trial court granted J.L.'s motion to suppress the gun as the fruit of an unlawful search. On appeal, the state argued that the officers didn't have any other options and they had enough evidence, through the anonymous tip, to search J.L. without a warrant. The intermediate appellate court agreed with the state. In reversing, the Supreme Court of Florida held the search invalid under the Fourth Amendment.
Question
Is an anonymous tip that a person is carrying a gun sufficient under the Fourth Amendment to justify a police officer's stop and frisk of that person?
Conclusion
No. In a unanimous opinion delivered by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Court held that "[a]n anonymous tip that a person is carrying a gun is not, without more, sufficient to justify a police officer's stop and frisk of that person." The Court concluded that the officers' suspicion that J. L. was carrying a weapon arose not from their own observations but from an anonymous tip, that the tip lacked reliability, and that the tip "provided no predictive information and therefore left the police without means to test the informant's knowledge or credibility." "An officer, for the protection of himself and others, may conduct a carefully limited search for weapons in the outer clothing of persons engaged in unusual conduct where... the officer reasonably concludes in light of his experience that criminal activity may be afoot and that the persons in question may be armed and presently dangerous," Justice Ginsburg wrote for the Court.
