United States of America v. Preston Buie

Mobile, Alabama, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.



Preston Buie was pulled over for following too closely behind a semi-truck. Within minutes, the officer who stopped him

became suspicious that something criminal was afoot—he had USCA11 Case: 24-11916 Document: 38-1 Date Filed: 10/20/2025 been warned to look out for a truck like Buie's, and Buie gave evasive and seemingly disingenuous answers to questions about the origins and purpose of his travel. Sure enough, a K-9 search called in by the officer revealed that Buie was transporting a dozen bricks of cocaine and a loaded handgun. Buie—already a felon at the time—was subsequently convicted by a jury of possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).



Buie now appeals his convictions on two grounds: that the district court erred in (1) denying Buie's motion to suppress the evidence from the stop as obtained in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights, and (2) denying Buie's motion to dismiss his indictment for felon-in-possession because 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is facially unconstitutional under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We affirm on both grounds.



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A traffic stop constitutes a seizure within the scope of the Fourth Amendment. Heien v. N.C., 574 U.S. 54, 60 (2014). When a police officer makes a lawful traffic stop, the officer can conduct checks unrelated to the stop so long as he does not prolong the stop. Braddy, 11 F.4th at 1310. Any delay unrelated to the stop's traffic-related mission unlawfully prolongs the stop. United States v. Campbell, 26 F.4th 860, 884 (11th Cir. 2022) (en banc); Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348, 352 (2015) (holding that the length of the delay is immaterial). Nor can an officer evade this rule by

working diligently to make time for himself to "slip in a few

unrelated questions.” Campbell, 26 F.4th at 884.



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In evaluating the length of a traffic stop, "courts must look at what an officer actually does,” without conflating the subject's decisions with those of the officer. Campbell, 26 F.4th at 883-84 (emphasis added); Rodriguez, 575 U.S. at 357 (holding that "diligence [is] gauged . . . by noting what the officer actually did and how he did it.”). As such, both

our jurisprudence and that of the Supreme Court put the entire focus on the officer's actions.

Imprisonment 180 months. Said term is to be served concurrently with the term imposed as to Count 3, but consecutively to the term imposed as to Count 2. Said term to be adjusted pursuant to U.S.S.G. 5G1.3(b)(1) for time from 1/12/23 - 1/15/23 and 7/28/23 - 6/6/24. Said term is to run concurrently with the yet to be imposed sentence in the related state case. SRT 10 years, to run concurrently with the terms imposed as to Counts 2 & 3. Special conditions: (1) substance abuse testing, (2) substance abuse treatment, (3) model search condition. SA $100.00.