United States v. Coker

648 F. App'x 541
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMay 12, 2016
DocketNo. 14-6385
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 648 F. App'x 541 (United States v. Coker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Coker, 648 F. App'x 541 (6th Cir. 2016).

Opinions

SUTTON, Circuit Judge.

An otherwise routine traffic stop turned into a criminal investigation when a police officer suspected that the driver, Jeris Coker, had drugs or guns in his car. The investigation uncovered that Coker was a felon in possession of a handgun — evidence that led to Coker’s guilty plea and 37-month prison sentence. Was the investigation leading to that discovery constitutional? Yes, we hold, and thus affirm.

Whether the Fourth Amendment allowed the officer’s investigation turns on what happened during Coker’s forty-minute traffic stop late at night in rural Tennessee. A dash-cam video, suppression-motion testimony, and a magistrate judge’s findings of fact (adopted by the district [543]*543court) lead us through the encounter. Here is our account of what they show happened, followed by our analysis of the constitutionality of the stop at each stage.

2:44-2:47 AM: Late at night in Rockford, Tennessee, Officer Reginald McCullough observed a car cross the double-yellow centerline several times, including while making a turn. McCullough activated his lights to pull the car over, and after about twenty seconds, the driver complied. McCullough too pulled over and approached the car on foot. The driver identified himself as Jeris Coker.

Okay so far? Yes. McCullough had probable cause to stop the car because Coker violated “run-of-the-mill traffic laws.” United States v. Herbin, 343 F.3d 807, 809 (6th Cir.2003). McCullough personally witnessed Coker violate (at least) one provision of the Tennessee Code: § 55-8-140(2) (which prohibits crossing a double-yellow centerline when turning). That gave him probable cause to stop Coker. See Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 810, 819, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996); United States v. Graham, 483 F.3d 431, 437 (6th Cir.2007).

The stop did not end there, however.

2:47-2:52 AM: After asking some routine questions and hearing Coker’s answers, McCullough returned to his patrol ear to call in the stop and write a traffic ticket. While there, McCullough observed Coker intensely staring at him from his car, which he considered unusual behavior based on the hundreds of similar stops he had performed in his career. McCullough also became concerned with Coker’s movements in the car, including his “leaning forward” and “reaching into the backseat.” R. 23 at 15.
2:53 AM: This behavior prompted McCullough to reten to Coker’s car. As he approached, he asked Coker to put his hands out the window. Coker complied. “Why are you moving around so much?” McCullough asked. To ash a cigar, Coker answered. Coker admitted that he was nervous, but said it was because he didn’t want any more points on his license. McCullough instructed Coker to quit “digging around and moving around” as he returned to his car. 2:54-2:55 AM: Back at the patrol car, McCullough explained to a ride-along citizen that he had become suspicious because Coker was “nervous as hell” and driving so late at night. As Coker “continu[ed]” to move around, McCullough’s suspicions continued to rise. R. 23 at 16. After learning from dispatch that Coker was “clear[ ]” of outstanding warrants, id., McCullough had to decide whether to finish the ticket or extend the stop.
2:55-3:00 AM: McCullough decided to extend the stop to “investigate a little bit.” R. 19 at 87. He asked Coker questions relating to drugs, including whether a drug dog would alert near his car. It “shouldn’t,” Coker responded, but he admitted that he had been around “weed smoke” in the past and that drug dogs had alerted to his car before. McCullough attempted to obtain Coker’s consent.,to search the car but Coker refused. McCullough decided to call for a drug dog.

Still okay? Yes, but this is a closer call. McCullough had authority to detain Coker until the “tasks tied to the traffic infraction [were] — or reasonably should have been — completed.” Rodriguez v. United States, — U.S. —, 135 S.Ct. 1609, 1614, 191 L.Ed.2d 492 (2015). McCullough reasonably should have completed these tasks by 3 AM or so. See id. at 1614-15. By that time, he had obtained all of Coker’s information, received the all-[544]*544clear from dispatch, and could have presumably finished writing the ticket. Unrelated to those tasks, McCullough chose to extend the stop to investigate for “ordinary criminal wrongdoing,” a decision that needed to be supported by “reasonable suspicion,” Id. at 1615-16 (quotation omitted).

It was. Reasonable suspicion is not a high bar. Navarette v. California, — U.S. —, 134 S.Ct. 1683, 1687, 188 L.Ed.2d 680 (2014). Although more than a “mere ‘hunch’ ” is required, id. (quotation omitted), the officer needs only “a minimal level of objective justification” for the stop, considering the “whole picture” around him. Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119, 123, 127, 120 S.Ct. 673, 145 L.Ed.2d 570 (2000). The inquiry has no “neat set of legal rules” but instead focuses on commonsense inferences from what happened. Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 695-96, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996) (quotation omitted).

Three features of this encounter taken together gave McCullough reasonable suspicion to extend the stop. First (and most important) were Coker’s suspicious movements — “leaning forward,” “reaching into the backseat,” and “digging around” in the car, after being told to stop moving. R. 19 at 57; R. 23 at 15; Video at 2:53:59-2:54:01. “[I]n the normal traffic stop,” McCullough testified, “it [is not] comrhon for people to keep moving around and digging around in their vehicles” — “especially after being asked not to.” R. 19 at 99-100. All of this movement meant that “[Coker] could have been looking for a weapon” or “hiding a weapon. [Or] [h]e could have been hiding drugs.” Id. at 99, That is why this court and others have concluded that these kinds of movements in a car (in combination with other factors) may provide an officer with reasonable suspicion of ongoing criminal activity. E.g., United States v. Carr, 674 F.3d 570, 572, 574 (6th Cir.2012) (“bending toward the middle console”); United States v. Campbell, 549 F.3d 364, 369, 371 (6th Cir.2008) (“slouch[ing] down ... with his hands out of sight”); United States v. Graham, 483 F.3d 431, 439 (6th Cir.2007) (“[a] dip with his right shoulder toward the floor”); United States v. Bailey, 302 F.3d 652, 659 (6th Cir.2002) (“reaching”); see also, e.g., United States v. DeJear, 552 F.3d 1196, 1200 (10th Cir.2009) (“stuffing movements toward the seat”); United States v. Bell, 480 F.3d 860, 862, 864 (8th Cir.2007) (“reaching] back”). Of importance here, Coker’s movements were more suspicious than the movements in many of these cases because Coker continued to move even after being told not to do so. See United States v. Mays, 643 F.3d 537

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
648 F. App'x 541, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-coker-ca6-2016.