Opinion ID: 2601972
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Search: Warrant Check

Text: [¶ 9] Appellant next argues that the warrant check itself constituted a seizure and that Officer Baedke was required to have either reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or Appellant's consent in order to carry out such a check. In Meek v. State, 2002 WY 1, ¶ 11, 37 P.3d 1279, 1283 (Wyo.2002), however, we stated, we fail to see how requesting an NCIC check alone could implicate Mr. Meek's constitutional rights. The officer in Meek ran an NCIC check on a car Mr. Meek was driving and stopped Mr. Meek based on the result of that search. Id. at ¶ 3, 37 P.3d at 1281. In that case, we emphasized that the officer in the instant case did not conduct a limited seizure or impose any restriction on Mr. Meek's freedom to leave while waiting for the NCIC check to be completed. Id. at ¶ 10, 37 P.3d at 1283. The situation is the same here. As we found above, Appellant was engaged in a consensual conversation with the officer when the warrant check was conducted. The search was complete within seconds and Appellant was in no way detained or restricted while the officer checked police department records to determine whether Appellant had any outstanding warrants. [2]