NCJ Number
97556
Date Published
1983
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This police training video cassette, accompanied by an audio cassette, reenacts the incident that led to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Florida vs. Royer and highlights the principles of that decision.
Abstract
The decision specifies that police officers may approach a citizen in a public place and ask if he minds answering questions, but that they may not detain that individual even momentarily simply for his refusal to listen or answer. After observing a man whose characteristics fit the so-called 'drug-courier profile,' two detectives asked to see his airline ticket and driver's license. The detectives noted that the airline ticket bore an assumed name, identified themselves as narcotics investigators, and escorted the man to a small room where they searched his suitcase without his express consent. Upon finding marijuana, the detectives requested permission to open a second suitcase; the defendant told them to 'go ahead.' When more marijuana was found, the defendant, Mark Royer, was arrested. The trial court determined that the warrantless search was reasonable, but the District Court of Appeal reversed Royer's conviction. The U.S. Supreme Court subsequently found that the defendant was illegally detained at the time he gave consent to search his luggage and that such consent was tainted by the illegality and ineffective consent. A booklet accompanying the cassettes summarizes the details of the case and comments on the Supreme Court's decision.