United States v. McBride
676 F.3d 385
| 4th Cir. | 2012Background
- Officers observed unusual activity at the Nu Vibe Club in the early evening, including a brief interaction near a Cadillac SLS that suggested a drug transaction.
- A blue Ford Explorer was driven by a Hispanic male; a black male in a white shirt interacted with the driver; the stop occurred after the blue truck’s headlights were off in rain.
- The driver was arrested for lacking a valid license; a bag containing cash was found in the vehicle.
- Inside the club, the officer recognized McBride as a person involved in prior narcotics investigations and detained all six patrons, informing them their vehicles were detained for canine searches.
- A canine narcotics unit arrived about 55 minutes later and alerted on the black Cadillac SLS; a search warrant yielded McBride’s photo, cash, a loaded pistol, and 373.85 grams of cocaine.
- McBride moved to suppress the Cadillac SLS evidence; the district court denied the motion and the government sought to admit prior bad-act evidence from a 2008 encounter with informant Blanding under Rule 404(b).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reasonable suspicion for detention | McBride | McBride | Detention supported by reasonable suspicion |
| Unreasonable duration of detention | McBride | McBride | 55-minute detention reasonable given diligence |
| Admission of prior bad act evidence under Rule 404(b) | McBride | McBride | Admission was improper; prejudicial error |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696 (1983) (balance intrusion against governmental interests in canine snooping)
- Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690 (1996) (totality of circumstances governs reasonable suspicion)
- United States v. Branch, 537 F.3d 328 (4th Cir.2008) (contextual, totality-based evaluation of Fourth Amendment stops)
- United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266 (2002) (reaffirmed totality-of-circumstances approach)
- United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1 (1989) (fact-specific reasonable suspicion framework)
- Queen v. United States, 132 F.3d 991 (4th Cir.1997) (four-factor test for Rule 404(b) admissibility)
- United States v. Johnson, 617 F.3d 286 (4th Cir.2010) (comparison of 404(b) admissibility tests; necessity and relevance)
- United States v. Hernandez, 975 F.2d 1035 (4th Cir.1992) (limits on 404(b) relevance when not connected to charged crimes)
- Rawle v. United States, 845 F.2d 1244 (4th Cir.1988) (necessity contextual role of prior act evidence (continuous conduct))
- United States v. Wells, 163 F.3d 889 (4th Cir.1998) (context for interference or related conspiracy conduct)
- United States v. Madden, 38 F.3d 747 (4th Cir.1994) (harmless-error standard for Rule 404(b) when evidence not harmless)