United States v. Smith, No. 14-2982 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseTwo Milwaukee police officers on bicycle patrol were investigating gunshots around 16th and Center Street. They saw Smith crossing 16th Street as he prepared to enter an alley. The officers rode ahead of Smith into the alley and when they were five feet from Smith, they stopped and positioned their bicycles at a 45‐degree angle to him. One officer dismounted, approached Smith, and asked whether he had a gun or any other weapon in his possession. When Smith indicated that he had a gun, the officers confiscated it and arrested him. Smith was indicted as a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The district court found that Smith’s encounter with the officers was consensual, and no seizure had occurred. Smith entered a conditional plea agreement and was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit reversed,reasoning that Smith's encounter with the officers cannot be treated as consensual because a reasonable person in his situation would not have felt free to ignore the police and go about his business. Since he was seized without reasonable suspicion, Smith’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.