United States v. Gorman, No. 15-16600 (9th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit held that the search of claimant's vehicle following two coordinated traffic stops violated the Constitution and affirmed the district court's order granting claimant's motion to suppress. In this case, claimant's roadside detention was unreasonably prolonged in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The subsequent dog sniff and search of the vehicle followed directly in an unbroken causal chain of events from that constitutional violation. Consequently, the seized currency was the fruit of the poisonous tree and was properly suppressed under the exclusionary rule.
Court Description: Fourth Amendment / Civil Forfeiture The panel affirmed the district court’s order in a civil forfeiture action granting claimant’s motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a traffic stop; affirmed the award of attorneys’ fees; and held that the search of claimant’s vehicle following coordinated traffic stops violated the Constitution. The panel held that the first stop of claimant’s vehicle was unreasonably prolonged in violation of the Fourth Amendment; the dog sniff and search of claimant’s vehicle during the coordinated second vehicle stop followed directly in an unbroken causal chain of events from that constitutional violation; and consequently, the seized currency from the second stop was the “fruit of the poisonous tree” and was properly suppressed under the exclusionary rule.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on September 14, 2017.
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