United States v. Pettit
2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 7923
| 10th Cir. | 2015Background
- Trooper stopped Michael Pettit after observing him cross the fog line multiple times; stop occurred at 3:32 p.m. following a brief snow burst on dry roads.
- Pettit said he was not local and drove a vehicle registered to a third party; he initially did not produce a license and appeared nervous (body movements, arm shaking, told officer he was "nervous" twice).
- Officer asked travel questions, requested and received consent to check the trunk, performed a brief pat search, ran license checks (revealing suspended Missouri and California licenses), and prepared a citation.
- After completing citation paperwork (at 3:43 p.m.) the officer did not return Pettit’s documents, questioned him further, requested broader consent to search, and learned additional details (one-way trip to pick up friend’s car). Pettit consented to a full search.
- During the search officers found $2,000 in the trunk; a drug-detection dog alerted at 3:58 p.m., and officers discovered ~2.5 kg of cocaine in the spare tire. Pettit moved to suppress; district court denied motion and conviction followed.
Issues
| Issue | Pettit’s Argument | Government’s Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether officer unlawfully extended the traffic stop without reasonable suspicion | Extension was based on hunches and disconnected generalizations; factors after 3:43 p.m. cannot be used | Officer had particularized, objective reasons (nervousness, travel plan oddities, suspended licenses) that, in totality, supported reasonable suspicion | The court held the extension was supported by reasonable suspicion under the totality of circumstances |
| Whether nervousness could support reasonable suspicion | Nervousness was explained by the recent snow burst and is common in stops; should be given little weight | Officer observed abnormal, specific indicia of nervousness (whole-arm shaking, repeated statements of being "nervous") supporting suspicion | Court found the specific, pronounced nervousness probative when considered with other factors |
| Whether travel plans and third-party registration were suspicious enough | Pettit’s travel plans were plausible and not independently criminal; many details cited arose after the stop concluded | Unusual facts (one-way trip to retrieve a car registered to an absent third party) can be consistent with drug-courier patterns and contribute to suspicion | Court held travel plan and third-party registration reasonably contributed to suspicion when aggregated with other factors |
| Whether suspended licenses could be relied on | Suspended licenses add little; criminal history cannot alone justify a stop | Driving on multiple suspended licenses can reasonably contribute to suspicion and may amplify implausibility of travel plans | Court allowed consideration of suspended licenses as a relevant factor in the totality analysis |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411 (totality-of-the-circumstances test for reasonable suspicion)
- Arizona v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266 (evaluating aggregated common-sense inferences for reasonable suspicion)
- Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348 (traffic stop cannot be extended beyond mission without reasonable suspicion)
- United States v. Vazquez, 555 F.3d 923 (10th Cir. standard of review for suppression rulings)
- United States v. Salzano, 158 F.3d 1107 (limited weight of ordinary nervousness in reasonable-suspicion analysis)
- United States v. Karam, 496 F.3d 1157 (treatment of travel plans in reasonable-suspicion analysis)