United States of America v. Jamar Hunter

Law enforcement officers conduct traffic stops every

day. No matter how minor the apparent infraction, every traffic

stop must comply with the Fourth Amendment. It wraps every

person, and every traffic stop, with a cloak of constitutional

protection. The Fourth Amendment also permits the

consideration of officer safety when confronting a potentially

dangerous situation. Weighing those concerns, we must decide

whether the use of a criminal record check, lasting

approximately two minutes, can be an objectively reasonable

3

safety precaution related to the mission of the traffic stop under

Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348 (2015) and the Fourth

Amendment.

It can. We therefore will reverse the District Court's

grant of the suppression motion and remand for further

consideration.



This traffic stop, which lasted less than eight minutes in

its entirety, began like many others—with a police officer

spotting minor traffic violations.1

On December 12, 2018,

Pennsylvania State Trooper Galen Clemons stopped a rented

Chrysler 300 in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania. Neither the

reason for the stop nor the legality of the stop at its outset is

disputed. Clemons traveled alone—without a partner or backup—and approached the car to discover two occupants: the

driver, Jamar Hunter, and a front seat passenger, Deshaun

Davis.2 After Hunter and Davis provided identification, 1 The traffic violations included the following: (1) speeding

(traveling at fifty-eight miles per hour in a thirty-five miles per

hour zone); (2) changing lanes without signaling; and (3)

crossing over a solid line while changing lanes.

2 The District Court discredited Clemons' testimony regarding

Hunter's nervousness and Davis' evasiveness, noting that "the

dashcam video fail[ed] to support his description.” J.A. 7 nn.3–

4. The District Court also found much of Clemons' testimony

to be "generalized” and "exaggerated.” Id.

exercise plenary review on questions of law, the District

Court's credibility findings merit deference. See Anderson v.

City of Bessemer City, N.C., 470 U.S. 564, 575 (1985)

4

Clemons returned to his patrol car to perform a routine license

and warrant check, also known as a "CLEAN N.C.I.C.” check.3



This check revealed that both men had valid driver's licenses

and no outstanding arrest warrants. It is at this point that

Hunter alleges the mission of the traffic stop ended and

Clemons no longer had constitutional authority to prolong the

stop.

Immediately after the routine check, Clemons

performed an additional check that extended the traffic stop: a

computerized criminal history check, also known as a "Triple

I” check.4

He spent around five minutes conducting both

checks in his patrol car, with the Triple I check taking

approximately "a minute or two.” J.A. 254. This computerized

criminal history check revealed that both Hunter and the

passenger had significant criminal histories, including firearm

and drug trafficking convictions.

Armed with this information, Clemons returned to

Hunter's car. The officer ordered Hunter out of the car so that

he could perform a Terry frisk, during which he discovered a

loaded Glock-45 semi-automatic handgun in Hunter's

waistband. He immediately arrested Hunter. The entire traffic

stop lasted less than eight minutes.

(concluding that credibility determinations made by the trial

judge demand great deference).

3

"CLEAN N.C.I.C.” refers to Commonwealth Law

Enforcement Assistant Network National Crime Information

Center.



This traffic stop, which lasted less than eight minutes in

its entirety, began like many others—with a police officer

spotting minor traffic violations.1

On December 12, 2018,

Pennsylvania State Trooper Galen Clemons stopped a rented

Chrysler 300 in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania. Neither the

reason for the stop nor the legality of the stop at its outset is

disputed. Clemons traveled alone—without a partner or backup—and approached the car to discover two occupants: the

driver, Jamar Hunter, and a front seat passenger, Deshaun

Davis.2 After Hunter and Davis provided identification,

1 The traffic The traffic violations included the following: (1) speeding

(traveling at fifty-eight miles per hour in a thirty-five miles per

hour zone); (2) changing lanes without signaling; and (3)

crossing over a solid line while changing lanes.

2 The District Court discredited Clemons' testimony regarding

Hunter's nervousness and Davis' evasiveness, noting that "the

dashcam video fail[ed] to support his description.” J.A. 7 nn.3–

4. The District Court also found much of Clemons' testimony

to be "generalized” and "exaggerated.” Id. Although we

exercise plenary review on questions of law, the District

Court's credibility findings merit deference. See Anderson v.

City of Bessemer City, N.C., 470 U.S. 564, 575 (1985)

4

Clemons returned to his patrol car to perform a routine license

and warrant check, also known as a "CLEAN N.C.I.C.” check.3



This check revealed that both men had valid driver's licenses

and no outstanding arrest warrants. It is at this point that

Hunter alleges the mission of the traffic stop ended and

Clemons no longer had constitutional authority to prolong the

stop.

Immediately after the routine check, Clemons

performed an additional check that extended the traffic stop: a

computerized criminal history check, also known as a "Triple

I” check.4

He spent around five minutes conducting both

checks in his patrol car, with the Triple I check taking

approximately "a minute or two.” J.A. 254. This computerized

criminal history check revealed that both Hunter and the

passenger had significant criminal histories, including firearm

and drug trafficking convictions.

Armed with this information, Clemons returned to

Hunter's car. The officer ordered Hunter out of the car so that

he could perform a Terry frisk, during which he discovered a

loaded Glock-45 semi-automatic handgun in Hunter's

waistband. He immediately arrested Hunter. The entire traffic

stop lasted less than eight minutes.

(concluding that credibility determinations made by the trial

judge demand great deference).

3

"CLEAN N.C.I.C.” refers to Commonwealth Law

Enforcement Assistant Network National Crime Information

Center.

4

The Triple I check retrieves criminal records from the same

network as CLEAN N.C.I.C.

My colleagues conclude that the District Court erred in

granting Hunter’s suppression motion here. Because that result

is consistent with, and required by, the Supreme Court’s

analysis in Rodriguez, I join my colleagues’ opinion despite the

concerns I have expressed.