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Officer's Squeeze of Contents of Pocket During Pat Down Search Found to Be Illegal, Resulting in Suppression of Evidence
Posted by: dpakula on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 07:51 PM
News There are constitutional limits to how far a police officer can go when conducting a pat down search for weapons during a traffic stop. For purposes of officer safety, an officer is allowed to conduct a limited pat down search if he or she has reason to believe the suspect may be armed. However, the search can become illegal if the officer continues the pat down after ascertaining that the subject is not armed. Our firm recently won a suppression hearing in a drug possession case by proving that the police officer exceeded the scope of a permissible pat down search by squeezing our client's pocket. As a result, the possession charge was dropped.

During the suppression hearing, the police officer testified that he was justified in reaching into our client's pocket to extract a baggie containing marijuana, even though he had determined that our client was unarmed. The officer stated that by feeling the pocket, he was able to tell that inside the client's pocket there was a baggie containing marijuana. The officer was quite pleased with himself when he announced that the search was legal under the so-called "plain feel" doctrine. The "plain feel" doctrine is a relatively obscure rule according to which an officer can seize the contents of a suspect's pocket if he can determine that there is an illegal substance inside the pocket merely by feeling the exterior of the pocket. Even the judge had not heard of this doctrine.

However, the officer's smug reliance on the obscure "plain feel" doctrine soon became another example of the saying, "a little knowledge is dangerous." On cross-examination, the officer was surprised when I asked him if he had found it necessary to squeeze our client's pocket to determine that it contained marijuana. The officer admitted that he had indeed squeezed the pocket to determine its contents.

I successfully argued to the judge that the "plain feel" doctrine does not apply when the officer finds it necessary to squeeze the suspect's pocket to determine its contents. By squeezing the pocket, the officer exceeded the permissible scope of the pat down search. I handed the judge judicial precedents that supported my argument. The judge granted our motion to suppress. As a result, the state lost its ability to introduce into evidence the marijuana that the officer had seized during the illegal search of our client. Shortly thereafter, the state announced a nolle prosse, and the possession charge was history.

Sometimes a little squeeze does the trick!
 
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Florida Traffic Ticket Defense

Florida Traffic Ticket Defense :: Attorney, Lawyer :: Defending Florida traffic tickets in Broward, Dade and Palm Beach County.

David B. Pakula, P.A.
Attorney At Law

1806 N. Flamingo Road, Suite 410
Pembroke Pines, Florida 33028
(954) 217-5123
dpakula@infionline.net
http://floridatrafficticketdefense.com

Lawyer Serving Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Aventura, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Hollywood, Hallandale, Aventura, Miami, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Palm Beach, and Southeastern Florida (Broward County, Palm Beach County and Dade County) since 1987.

Mr. Pakula served as a Broward County Traffic Court Magistrate from 2002 to 2004. He is board certified by The Florida Bar in appellate practice and has handled trial and appellate litigation in state and federal courts since 1987. The law firm of David B. Pakula, P.A. is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Pakula is a member of the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of Florida, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, the 11th Circuit and the D.C. Circuit, and The United States Supreme Court.

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