Martin Flumenbaum and Brad S. Karp
Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its decision in United States v. Walker, 965 F.3d.180 (2d Cir. 2020), reversing the district court’s denial of Jaquan Walker’s motion to suppress statements made and narcotics discovered during a search incident to arrest. In an opinion written by Circuit Judge Rosemary S. Pooler and joined by Circuit Judges Guido Calabresi and Susan L. Carney, the court held that the officers lacked an objectively reasonable belief that Walker had participated in criminal activity because their stop was based on Walker’s alleged match to a photograph that “provided little meaningful identifying information to the police besides the race of a suspect.” In finding this justification to be “woefully short of what the Fourth Amendment requires[,]” in addition to being based on “impermissible and manifest stereotyping, which c[ould not] be characterized as merely negligent conduct,” the court further held that the narcotics and statements discovered as a result of the search were insufficiently attenuated from the unconstitutional stop and therefore inadmissible.
This decision comes at a pivotal moment, as demands to transform policing have spread across the nation and the role of police and the consequences of law enforcement overstepping legal boundaries are under increased scrutiny.
Background
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
