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GLORIA JEAN ELLIS v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
52 Va. App. 220
July 1, 2008, Decided
The canine narcotics unit arrived and searched Ellis and discovered cocaine. Ellis was convicted by the Circuit Court of the City of Virginia Beach of possession of cocaine.
Issue:
Whether the trial court erred in fails to suppress the evidence of cocaine found on her person during a traffic stop?
Whether the Consent to search was tainted by an unreasonably long detention?
The court held that "the officer's one-minute conversation about drugs cannot be characterized as an exploitive, unconstitutional act. Where a seizure of a person is based on probable cause to believe that a traffic violation was committed, an officer does not violate the Fourth Amendment by asking a few questions about matters unrelated to the traffic violation, even if this conversation briefly extends the length of the detention. Ellis consented to a search while being detained by an officer having probable cause to issue her a citation for a malfunctioning brake light. The drug dog's multiple alerts and Ellis's subsequent consent took place before the officer completed the paperwork necessary for issuing a summons for the equipment violation. The brief, incremental delay caused by the officer's questions regarding drugs did not violate the Fourth Amendment and, a fortiori, did not constitute an exploitive basis for securing Ellis's consent."
This court finds that no error in trial court reasoning or result, affirmed the trial court judgment.
Disclaimer:
These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm's unofficial views of the Justices' opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content.
