Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Nov. 2022)

This post summarizes criminal and related decisions published by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during November 2022. Cases of interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous Fourth Circuit case summaries are available here. No reasonable suspicion existed to extend traffic stop for a canine sniff; denial of motion to suppress reversed U.S. v. Miller, ___ F.4th ___, 2022 WL 17259018 (Nov. 29, 2022). The defendant was a passenger in a car stopped in the Northern District of West Virginia for a broken taillight. After the officer activated his patrol lights, the driver braked within four seconds, turned on her blinker within three more seconds, and was completely stopped within seventeen seconds. According to the officer, the driver was nervous, and her hands were shaking during the encounter. The body camera footage from the stop did not show the driver’s hands shaking when they were within view of the camera. The driver explained that the car was messy when she could not immediately find her registration card. She explained to the officer that she had just renewed her license earlier that day and knew the card was in the car. She complained to the officer that she had waited over three hours at DMV while watching her three grandchildren. The officer indicated he intended to write a warning if the driver’s license and paperwork was in order. Another officer arrived, and the initial stopping officer expressed his suspicion about the driver and passenger because the driver was “shaking and tapping [...]