United States v. Toussaint

The United States appealed the district court's order suppressing evidence seized in a traffic stop. The district court found exigent circumstances when the initial threat overheard on wiretap was first intercepted but none when the officers encountered defendant forty-five minutes later. Additionally, the district court found that the detective and his fellow officers’ response to the threat was unreasonable, criticizing their lack of urgency and questioning whether they actually believed defendant was in need of emergency help. The court concluded, however, that there was an objectively reasonable basis for believing that the emergency had not ended. Because the emergency had not dissolved after 45 minutes, the court concluded that the officers' actions, taken as a whole, were a reasonable response to the emergency. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded. View "United States v. Toussaint" on Justia Law