ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 begins with the provisions of a “field interview.” It continues with a comprehensive look at the evolution of legal standards at the Supreme Court level and uses as examples one state’s statutes on various components of the topic and some of the incentives that appear to underlie those statutes. There are also some examples of litigation decisions that are difficult to understand, even in the view of the Court, and their possible unintended consequences.
The chapter evolves into a discussion of communication problems with regard to how we convey the legitimacy of such enforcement endeavors and compares seizures with non-seizures, with numerous citations provided to assist in showing the distinctions. Additionally, the nature of a “stop” is presented with the inclusion of supportive case law.
This portion of the text concludes with a discussion of officer actions and responses during a “stop,” the differing views of “reasonableness,” and the extent of its duration, along with analysis of potential identification issues.
