Court Opinion

ID: 9797141
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 04:14:21.39774+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:52:47.144073
License: Public Domain

Chief Justice SCHROEDER,
Specially Concurring.
In the aftermath of the reality of Henage possessing drugs it is tempting to find a rationalization for justifying the search. However, wrapped around the overlays of Terry interpretation is a simple concept of personal privacy and security. Once the traffic stop was completed and Henage was free to leave, this encounter was no different from any person going to work or shopping or using leisure time. A police officer may, of course, talk to people and may ask questions. That does not mean the encounter can be escalated into a search without a reasonable belief that the person poses a danger. Standing outside the entrance to a corporate office or a shopping mall and asking the employees or customers who enter if they have contraband or a knife, or anything else that might be used as a weapon would probably yield a fair number of affirmative answers. One can only speculate how many men, women and children carry a knife, or pocket knife, or fingernail file or a pair of scissors, or permitted concealed weapon. While the question may be asked, an honest answer in the affirmative does not lead to the conclusion that the person may be searched absent an objectively reasonable belief that the person poses a danger. Special exceptions to a warrant requirement for a search have been drawn. This is not one of them.