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- May 5, 2006
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- 1,777
Gun owners’ guide to the 4th Amendment: Stop and Frisk
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No warrant is required for a Terry Stop, nor is there a requirement for probable cause such as would be a prerequisite for obtaining a warrant. Rather, a Terry Stop requires only “reasonable suspicion that criminal activity may be afoot.” If the officer wishes to search or “frisk” the person he is seizing, they must also have reasonable suspicion that they “may be armed and presently dangerous” but this is not required to simply seize the person.
Returning to the issue from the perspective of a law-abiding gun owner, the question I am often asked is whether or not the simple act of openly carrying a properly holstered handgun gives rise to the reasonable suspicion necessary to initiate a Terry Stop. The answer to that question varies somewhat from state to state.
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No warrant is required for a Terry Stop, nor is there a requirement for probable cause such as would be a prerequisite for obtaining a warrant. Rather, a Terry Stop requires only “reasonable suspicion that criminal activity may be afoot.” If the officer wishes to search or “frisk” the person he is seizing, they must also have reasonable suspicion that they “may be armed and presently dangerous” but this is not required to simply seize the person.
Returning to the issue from the perspective of a law-abiding gun owner, the question I am often asked is whether or not the simple act of openly carrying a properly holstered handgun gives rise to the reasonable suspicion necessary to initiate a Terry Stop. The answer to that question varies somewhat from state to state.
Excerpt ... Read more
