United States v. Rickey Scott
624 F. App'x 850
5th Cir.2015Background
- Police received an anonymous tip reporting drug activity at 213 Columbus Street in Jackson, MS; officers in unmarked cars responded and observed people congregating in front of that address.
- Detective Corliss Harris exited his vehicle in tactical gear, approached the group, and asked Ricky Lee Scott to "step back over" after Scott began to walk away and act fidgety.
- Scott turned, raised his hands, and the detective observed what appeared to be the butt of a handgun in Scott’s waistband; Harris then searched Scott, recovered the revolver, and Scott admitted he was a convicted felon.
- Scott moved to suppress the gun as the product of an unconstitutional, warrantless Terry stop lacking reasonable suspicion; the Government argued either the encounter was consensual (no seizure) or, alternatively, that reasonable suspicion justified a Terry stop.
- The district court initially found reasonable suspicion but later clarified on remand that Scott was not seized until the gun was observed; the court denied suppression and Scott appealed his conditional guilty plea.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Scott was "seized" under the Fourth Amendment before the gun was observed | Scott: the officer’s request to "step back over" and approach constituted a seizure requiring reasonable suspicion | Gov: Scott voluntarily stopped/returned; request alone did not seize him, so encounter was consensual | Court: Not a seizure prior to gun discovery; encounter was consensual |
| If a seizure occurred, whether officers had reasonable suspicion to justify a Terry stop | Scott: no specific, articulable facts created reasonable suspicion before the gun was seen | Gov: tip + observed congregating, nervous behavior, and attempt to leave gave reasonable suspicion | Court: unnecessary to decide because no seizure occurred; district court’s denial affirmed on no-seizure ground |
Key Cases Cited
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (establishing stop-and-frisk reasonable-suspicion standard)
- Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429 (consensual encounter vs. seizure analysis)
- INS v. Delgado, 466 U.S. 210 (objective reasonable-person free-to-leave test)
- United States v. Mask, 330 F.3d 330 (5th Cir. seizure analysis and deference rules)
- United States v. Valdiosera–Godinez, 932 F.2d 1093 (no seizure where officer asked defendants to come out without coercive conduct)
- United States v. Drayton, 536 U.S. 194 (no seizure absent intimidating show of authority)
- United States v. Powell, 732 F.3d 361 (appellate affirmation may rest on any record basis)
- United States v. Michelletti, 13 F.3d 838 (suppression review; view facts for prevailing party)