NCJ Number
174216
Journal
Crime to Court Volume: lice Officer's Handbook (June 1996) Issue: Dated: Pages: -
Date Published
1996
Length
15 pages
Annotation
These articles are intended for police education and explain the facts and law related to the search and seizure issues in a judicial decision related to luggage stored in the overhead luggage rack of a bus and present an overview and definition of hate crimes.
Abstract
The case of United States v. Guzman was decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1996. The defendant was Antonio Guzman, who arrived at the bus station in Memphis, Tenn., on a bus from Dallas. Two police detectives were at the bus station with their drug dogs to conduct routine checks for drugs on the buses. The defendant contended that one of the detectives did not have probable cause to touch the defendant's bag, that touching the bag was an unlawful search, and that the defendant's subsequent detention was an unlawful arrest. The Federal magistrate judge suppressed the evidence, but the trial court judge reversed the suppression order. The appellate court upheld the trial court, based on the totality of the circumstances, including the lack of expectation of privacy in the exterior of the luggage in the overhead rack and the detective's awareness of the dog's reaction. The article on hate crimes recommends that police officers consider aspects of the target, graffiti, bigotry as the central motive, certain kinds of assaults, vandalism, and obscene or threatening telephone calls. Photographs and quiz on the search and seizure case