Commonwealth v. Buchert
68 A.3d 911
| Pa. Super. Ct. | 2013Background
- Officers stopped a 1996 black Nissan Maxima for a broken tail light on July 15, 2011, at about 12:15 a.m. in Philadelphia.
- Defendant Buchert sat in the front passenger seat; as officers approached, he bent forward and appeared to reach under the seat, while nervous and breathing heavily.
- Officers conducted a frisk of Buchert and the driver, yielding no contraband.
- Officer McConnell then searched the vehicle’s immediate area of control and recovered a black .22 caliber Colt revolver from beneath the passenger seat.
- Suppression court ruled the search unlawful for lack of probable cause under Reppert; Commonwealth appealed for review.
- The court reversed, holding the totality of circumstances showed reasonable suspicion to conduct a protective search and remanded the case for proceedings consistent with that ruling.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the protective search of the passenger area was valid under Long/Morris given furtive movement and nervousness. | Buchert argued the stop did not create reasonable suspicion for a protective search. | Commonwealth argued the stop, nighttime context, furtive movement, and nervousness justified reasonable suspicion. | Yes; the court held there was reasonable suspicion to warrant a protective weapons search. |
Key Cases Cited
- Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032 (U.S. 1983) (extended stop-and-search precedent to vehicle interiors)
- Commonwealth v. Morris, 537 Pa. 417 (Pa. 1994) (adopted Long framework for protective searches of cars in PA)
- Cartagena, 63 A.3d 294 (Pa. Super. 2013) (en banc; discussed high crime area and limitations of prior standard)
- Boyd, 17 A.3d 1274 (Pa. Super. 2011) (affirmed search under similar circumstances in high-crime area)
- Simmons, 17 A.3d 399 (Pa. Super. 2011) (protective frisk supported by furtive movements during a lawful stop)
- In re O.J., 958 A.2d 561 (Pa. Super. 2008) (case on night stop; furtive movement and movement near console justified search)
- Murray, 936 A.2d 76 (Pa. Super. 2007) (narcotics area plus nighttime and movement justified search)
- Reppert, 814 A.2d 1196 (Pa. Super. 2002) (en banc; guide on limitations of reliance on furtive movements)
- Moyer, 954 A.2d 659 (Pa. Super. 2008) (two-step stop; furtive movements and nervousness alone insufficient)
- Micking, 17 A.3d 924 (Pa. Super. 2011) (extreme nervousness discussed as factor but non-precedential)