Court Opinion

ID: 9873153
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-26 21:23:40.974456+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:46:31.948180
License: Public Domain

VandeWalle, Chief Justice,
concurring specially.
[¶ 22] I believe this is a close case but I defer to our standard of review and the wisdom of my colleagues and I concur in the result. However, I write specially to note the issue of the trial court’s consideration of the totality of the circumstances. In the words of the majority opinion: “The district court noted that each was a ‘legitimate’ or ‘pertinent’ factor in establishing reasonable suspicion. There is no indication the district court did not conduct a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis when it determined reasonable suspicion for continuing detention did not exist.” My concern lies in the fact that it appears the district court’s analysis, and the majority’s approval thereof, may lead to the conclusion that if none of the factors considered in the analysis rise to the level of reasonable suspicion, the sum total of those factors cannot do so. That is not my understanding of the application of the totality-of-the-circumstances analysis and I would not join in that conclusion. Rather, in some instances, the total may be greater than the sum of its parts.
[¶ 23] Gerald W. VandeWalle, C. J.