However, the application of constitutional principles to the facts as found is a question of law which we decide without deference to the circuit court's decision. Moment of Fourth Amendment Seizure. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. See U.S. Const. The detention of a motorist by a law enforcement officer constitutes a seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.
Statements given and items seized during a period of illegal detention are inadmissible.
Before determining whether an investigative detention was justified by reasonable suspicion, we must first determine whether there was a detention or seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Not every encounter between police officers and citizens involves a seizure requiring an objective justification. A person is seized only when his freedom of movement is restrained by means of physical force or a show of authority such that, in view of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would believe that he was not free to leave. Only when such restraint is imposed is there any foundation whatever for invoking constitutional safeguards. The United States Supreme Court has also established that, law enforcement officers do not violate the Fourth Amendment by merely approaching an individual on the street or in another public place, by asking him if he is willing to answer some questions, by putting questions to him if the person is willing to listen, or by offering in evidence in a criminal prosecution his voluntary answers to such questions.