United States v. Briasco, No. 10-3147 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was charged with possession with intent to distribute more than 50 kilograms of marijuana after a Nebraska state trooper discovered 182 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of the car he was driving. At issue was whether the state trooper lacked reasonable suspicion to extend this traffic stop after he refused to consent to a search of his vehicle. The court affirmed the judgment and held that the state trooper had reasonable and articulable suspicion that defendant was illegally transporting drugs when he was detained and there was no Fourth Amendment violation where the car had a strong odor of air freshener, defendant claimed the trunk was empty even though there was luggage in the back seat and the trunk was sagging, defendant became increasingly nervous, defendant and his passenger gave only brief descriptions of how they planned to travel back to Boston, and defendant failed to give full information about his criminal history.
Court Description: Criminal case - Criminal law. Officer had a reasonable, articulable suspicion that defendant's vehicle was carrying contraband and defendant's continued detention was not a Fourth Amendment violation.
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.