NCJ Number
190993
Date Published
2001
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This handbook focuses on the discretionary automobile stop by police and the conditions under which it is lawful.
Abstract
Courts have seen the need to formulate clear rules as to what is necessary to justify an investigative stop resulting from a tip. The reliability of the tipster is important, as well as the amount and quality of what officers are able to corroborate. In this case study, the South Carolina trial judge was faced with the question of whether the reliability of the tipster was established, and whether the corroboration accomplished by on-the-street law enforcement officers was sufficient to justify an investigative stop. The anonymous tip in this case told the police that several Black males were drinking and causing a disturbance at a certain intersection. The caller did not identify himself, give his location, explain how he knew about the disturbance, and gave no information about the appearance apart from mentioning their race. He did not say whether the men were in an automobile or whether they had access to one. The police inspected the immediate area and found no signs of disturbance, therefore the tip was totally uncorroborated. Essentially the defendant was stopped because of his race, searched, and found to have cocaine on his person. The officer saw no traffic violations or any suspicious activity. The uncorroborated tip and the police officer’s sighting of four African American men in a car were insufficient to establish reasonable suspicion for a stop. The stop was therefore illegal, and the crack cocaine that the officer discovered during his search should have been excluded at trial. The judgment of conviction was vacated and the case was remanded for any further proceedings that would be consistent with this opinion.