In re Rafeal E.
14 N.E.3d 489
Ill. App. Ct.2014Background
- Minor Rafeal E. was charged with possession of heroin and cocaine after Chicago police recovered a clear plastic sandwich bag protruding from his waistband and a green bag from his pocket.
- Officer Millan (in uniform, in a marked squad, on a narcotics saturation detail) observed Rafeal standing with 4–6 people at the mouth of an alley; Rafeal looked toward the officers and then walked away briskly with hands in his pockets.
- The squad car drove parallel to Rafeal; the officer ordered him to stop and to remove his hands from his pockets (and/or put his hands up); Rafeal complied and the officer observed and recovered a clear bag from his waistband and later a green bag from his pocket.
- Rafeal moved to quash the arrest and suppress the seized evidence, arguing the stop lacked probable cause or reasonable, articulable suspicion; the trial court denied the motion and admitted the evidence.
- At trial the contraband tested positive for heroin and cocaine; the juvenile court found Rafeal delinquent and placed him on probation.
- On appeal the appellate court held the encounter was a Terry stop (seizure) but concluded the officer lacked reasonable, articulable suspicion to justify it; suppression was therefore required and the delinquency adjudication was reversed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the encounter was a consensual encounter or a seizure (Terry stop) | The encounter was consensual; officer merely asked questions and requested removal of hands from pockets | Officer’s orders and marked squad presence were a show of authority that a reasonable person would not feel free to ignore | Seizure: the officer’s commands and the marked vehicle created a show of authority and Rafeal submitted, so a Terry stop occurred |
| Whether officers had reasonable, articulable suspicion to justify the Terry stop | Presence in a high-narcotics area and Rafeal’s brisk walking away upon noticing police equated to suspicious, evasive conduct (citing Wardlow) | Rafeal was merely walking away with hands in pockets; no flight, no observed narcotics transaction, no other suspicious conduct | No reasonable suspicion: brisk walking away (not headlong flight), standing/talking with a group, and hands-in-pockets did not supply the quantum of suspicion required under Terry |
| Whether evidence seized (baggies) was admissible despite being recovered during the stop | The plastic bag in plain view when Rafeal raised his shirt gave probable cause to seize it; search incident to arrest was valid | The seizure flowed from an unlawful Terry stop and thus must be suppressed; officer lacked basis to compel removal/search | Because the stop lacked reasonable suspicion, suppression was required and the court did not need to decide whether the officer exceeded the scope of a Terry frisk or search; conviction reversed |
Key Cases Cited
- Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119 (presence in high-crime area plus headlong flight can create reasonable suspicion)
- United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544 (factors indicating a seizure: presence of multiple officers, display of a weapon, physical touching, language or tone indicating compliance may be compelled)
- Luedemann v. People, 222 Ill. 2d 530 (three tiers of police-citizen encounters; objective test whether a reasonable person would feel free to leave)
- People v. Jackson, 389 Ill. App. 3d 283 (officer orders to remove hands from pockets can indicate a command and effect a seizure)
- California v. Hodari D., 499 U.S. 621 (a seizure requires either physical force or submission to assertion of authority)