Automatic Companion Rule: An Appropriate Standard to Justify the Terry Frisk of an Arrestee's Companion? (From Criminal Law Review - 1989, P 3-18, 1989, James G. Carr, ed. -- See NCJ-121027)

• NCJ Number: 121028
• Author(s): J C Serocke
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: Clark Boardman Company, Ltd
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from Fordham Law Review, V 56 (1988), P 917-932

Annotation

Some Federal courts have adopted or approve of the automatic companion rule, an application of the Terry v. Ohio standard permitting an arrestee's companion to be stopped and frisked for weapons. Other Federal courts do not accept the application of the Terry standard to justify the automatic stopping and frisking of an arrestee's companion and argue that the totality of the circumstances must be assessed by police officers before they go forward with a stop and frisk of a companion.

Abstract

This article examines the automatic companion rule, established by the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Berryhill in 1971, to determine whether it is an appropriate standard for a stop and frisk for weapons of an arrestee's companion. The requirement under the fourth amendment that searches be justified by probable cause is discussed, along with the Terry exception permitting a stop and protective frisk for weapons. Differences of opinion among the Federal appeals courts in applying the Terry standard to the frisking of an arrestee's companion are discussed in detail, with emphasis on the failure of the automatic companion rule to meet the Supreme Court's reasonable suspicion standard. Arguing that the stopping and frisking of an arrestee's companion must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, the article concludes that courts should not adopt the automatic companion rule, for it violates the fourth amendment probable cause requirement. 125 footnotes.