Opinion ID: 204528
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Eye Contact

Text: Evidence of suspicious and peculiar activity by the passengers of a vehicle may add to the reasonableness of suspicion. The avoidance of eye contact by passengers, however, is not entitled to any weight. [14] Other actions that attend the avoidance of eye contact may provide some weight, [15] but there is no evidence of any other suspicious activity that attended the avoidance of eye contact in this case. The fact that one of the passengers pointed to an open field does not signify suspicious behavior any more than it constitutes innocent behavior  it is just unremarkable behavior on a road trip. This passenger could have been pointing to anything: an animal, a tree, etc. Indeed, the agents could not even confirm whether this passenger was even aware of their presence; all they saw was one female pointing to an open clearing. This fact provides little to no heft to the government's case.