United States v. Mark Stubblefield, 820 F.3d 445

Background

Between Jan–Apr 2008 a series of bank robberies in D.C.; eyewitnesses described the robber as a thin, middle‑aged Black man about 5'1"–5'3" with distinctive facial disfigurement.
Surveillance showed a man matching the description leaving a robbery scene and getting into a taxi; the taxi driver said he dropped the man at 7th St & Florida Ave.
FBI canvassers used a witness sketch and distributed posters; a citizen‑informant later identified a man who frequented 7th & Florida (and later saw him at 7th & Rhode Island) and reported the sightings to the FBI.
Officers approached a man matching the description (Mark Stubblefield) at 7th & Rhode Island; he fled on foot for two blocks, was caught, searched, and found with a small crack pipe; initial arrest report charged possession of drug paraphernalia.
Booking photo of Stubblefield was placed in a photo array; two eyewitnesses viewed it—one manager positively identified him; based on that ID the FBI obtained a robbery arrest warrant and charged him with multiple bank robberies.
Stubblefield was convicted at trial (conviction affirmed on direct appeal). He later moved under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 claiming ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC) because counsel did not move to suppress the booking photo as seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Stubblefield)	Defendant's Argument (Government/Amicus)	Held
Whether police had reasonable suspicion to detain/approach Stubblefield	Officers lacked reasonable suspicion; informant unreliable; description generic	Witness descriptions (height + facial disfigurement) were distinctive; in‑person informant reliable; location corroborated	Court: Sufficient reasonable suspicion and, in totality, supported probable cause
Whether flight and subsequent discovery of crack pipe justified arrest/search	Flight was not shown to be ‘‘headlong’’ or unprovoked; flight alone insufficient	Flight (two‑block chase) plus other corroborating facts supports suspicion and contributed to probable cause; search incident to arrest revealed pipe	Court: Flight corroborated other facts and contributed to probable cause; arrest/search lawful
Whether booking photograph used to obtain robbery arrest warrant should have been suppressed under Fourth Amendment	Booking photo was products of an unlawful arrest/search; if suppressed, identifications and conviction would fail	Arrest was supported by probable cause; booking photo lawfully obtained and ID admissible	Court: No Fourth Amendment violation; probable cause existed; suppression not warranted
Whether failure to move to suppress was prejudicial ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel’s failure to move to suppress the booking photo deprived Stubblefield of a meritorious claim and affected outcome	Fourth Amendment claim lacks merit; therefore IAC fails because underlying Fourth Amendment claim is not meritorious	Court: IAC fails — Fourth Amendment claim not meritorious; district court decision affirmed

Key Cases Cited

Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365 (1986) (defendant bears burden to prove Fourth Amendment claim is meritorious in IAC context)
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983) (probable cause assessed under totality of the circumstances)
Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119 (2000) (unprovoked, headlong flight may contribute to reasonable suspicion)
Reid v. Georgia, 448 U.S. 438 (1980) (insufficient particularized suspicion from generalized travel circumstances)
Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325 (1990) (anonymous tip may have sufficient indicia of reliability if corroborated)
Navarette v. California, 134 S. Ct. 1683 (2014) (anonymous call reporting imminent dangerous conduct can supply reasonable suspicion)
United States v. Short, 570 F.2d 1051 (D.C. Cir. 1978) (vague/common descriptive attributes may be insufficient to narrow suspects)
United States v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675 (1985) (flight alone cannot give rise to probable cause; must be considered with other facts)