Opinion ID: 2549040
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Objective Analysis

Text: ¶ 16 The United States Supreme Court in Terry stated that an officer's subjective belief that a suspect is armed and dangerous is not enough alone to justify a protective frisk, but the Court has not yet determined what role an officer's lack of subjective belief plays in the analysis when reasonable suspicion is required. 392 U.S. at 22, 88 S.Ct. 1868. When probable cause is required, the Court has held that a lack of subjective belief cannot invalidate an otherwise objectively reasonable action. [3] The Court in Terry did state that an officer must justify the intrusion by pointing to articulable facts that warrant the intrusion when viewed under the totality of the circumstances. Id. at 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868. Thus, it appears that a Terry frisk should be measured by an objective standard. Likewise, our previous case law mandates an objective analysis, though we have not previously addressed the implications of an officer's lack of subjective belief in the Terry frisk context. State v. Roybal, 716 P.2d 291, 293 (Utah 1986); State v. Carter, 707 P.2d 656, 659 (Utah 1985). We now discuss whether an officer's subjective belief may be a factor to consider in the objective analysis to determine whether a Terry frisk was reasonable.
¶ 17 The majority of jurisdictions that have addressed the issue of an officer's lack of subjective belief have upheld a Terry frisk or a Terry stop as long as the Terry frisk or stop was objectively reasonable. United States v. Holt, 264 F.3d 1215, 1225 (10th Cir.2001) (per curiam) (explaining that subjective intentions rarely play a role in a Fourth Amendment analysis and that courts instead rely on an objective view of the circumstances); United States v. Brown, 232 F.3d 589, 594 (7th Cir.2000) (holding that courts are not limited to the officer's subjective rationale); United States v. Michelletti, 13 F.3d 838, 842 (5th Cir.1994) (approving a Terry frisk under an objective standard, notwithstanding the fact that the officer stated he had no specific reason to believe the defendant was armed); United States v. McKie, 951 F.2d 399, 402 (D.C.Cir.1991) (per curiam) (holding that the court is not limited by subjective rationale, but determines reasonableness objectively); United States v. Cummins, 920 F.2d 498, 502 (8th Cir.1990) (finding a Terry search objectively reasonable, notwithstanding the officer's lack of subjective belief that the defendants were armed and dangerous).
¶ 18 On the other hand, a minority of jurisdictions evaluate a Terry frisk according to the officer's subjective belief. United States v. Lott, 870 F.2d 778, 783-84 (1st Cir.1989) ([W]e do not read [ Terry and Long ] as permitting a frisk where, although the circumstances might pass an objective test, the officers in the field were not actually concerned for their safety.); United States v. Prim, 698 F.2d 972, 975 (9th Cir. 1983) (holding that an objective standard is applied to the officer's actual or perceived belief). ¶ 19 We concur with the majority of jurisdictions in holding that the reasonableness of a Terry frisk must be evaluated objectively. Furthermore, an officer's lack of subjective belief alone does not invalidate an otherwise objectively reasonable Terry frisk. We do not, however, go so far as to hold that an officer's subjective belief plays no role in the analysis.