Facts
- Richmond Police Officer Winston was patrolling a portion of the city managed by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, an area restricted to residents and their guests.
- Winston saw a vehicle parked in a cul-de-sac with its engine running and two occupants inside: Jeremiah Duty and Jonathan Bish.
- As Winston drove past, the occupants looked at her; she then circled back toward the cul-de-sac.
- Winston activated her emergency lights and pulled in behind the parked vehicle to check on the occupants and ask what they were doing in the restricted area and whether they had a legitimate reason to be there.
- Winston approached and asked Duty for identification; she ran a check and learned Duty had an outstanding warrant.
- After confirming the warrant, Winston arrested Duty and searched him, finding several rounds of .22 ammunition, a syringe, and pills.
- Winston also searched the vehicle’s trunk and found a .22 caliber rifle.
- Duty, a convicted felon, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
- Duty moved to suppress the evidence, arguing the encounter began as an unlawful seizure; the district court denied the motion, and Duty was convicted.
- Duty appealed the denial of his suppression motion to the Fourth Circuit.
Issues
- Whether Duty was seized for Fourth Amendment purposes when Officer Winston activated her emergency lights and pulled in behind Duty’s parked vehicle.
- If Duty was seized at that moment, whether the district court erred in denying the motion to suppress evidence obtained after the warrant check, arrest, and subsequent searches.
Decision
- The Fourth Circuit held that Duty was seized when Winston activated her emergency lights and positioned her patrol car behind Duty’s vehicle.
- The court concluded that this show of authority would cause a reasonable person to believe he was not free to leave or end the encounter.
- The court vacated the district court’s denial of the motion to suppress and remanded for further proceedings consistent with its ruling on when the seizure occurred.
Legal Principles
- A Fourth Amendment seizure occurs when, considering all the circumstances, a reasonable person would not feel free to leave or otherwise terminate the encounter.
- Police conduct that communicates a command—rather than a request—can create a seizure even without physical force.
- Activating emergency lights and pulling in behind a parked vehicle may constitute a show of authority that turns an officer’s approach into a seizure.
- When evidence is obtained after an encounter that is found to be a seizure, the legality of that seizure must be evaluated as of the moment the seizure began; later events (such as learning of an outstanding warrant) do not, by themselves, justify the earlier seizure.
Conclusion
United States v. Duty held that Officer Winston seized Duty when she activated her emergency lights and pulled behind his parked car, because a reasonable person would not have felt free to leave; the Fourth Circuit therefore vacated the denial of Duty’s suppression motion and remanded for the district court to reconsider the suppression issues using that seizure start point.