Ian Watson

CJS 213 – Evidence and Criminal Procedure

Professor Tuesday Cooper
Manchester Community College

2-19-2023
Week 5: Case Brief
Citation: Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968).
Facts: A street police officer experienced with daytime criminal activity observed Terry
and two other men behaving in a manner indicative of intent to commit armed robbery.
The officer approached the three men, identified himself as police, and asked the men
questions. After nothing happened during the conversation to dissuade the officer from
his initial suspicion, the officer grabbed Terry, spun him around, and patted him down
outside his clothes to search for weapons. The officer felt a revolver in Terry’s inside
coat pocket and seized it before charging Terry for carrying a concealed weapon. The
lower state court later overruled Terry’s pretrial motion to suppress the evidence of the
discovered revolver where it found the officer’s street search and seizure to not be
unreasonable.
Procedural Posture: The lower state court convicted Terry, and Terry appealed. The
Ohio Appellate and Supreme Courts affirmed, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted
certiorari.
Issue: Pursuant to the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, did the lower court
improperly overrule Terry’s pretrial motion to suppress the evidence of the revolver
found in Terry’s inside coat pocket where the officer did not have probable cause to
conduct a street search and seizure?
Holding: No, because the officer’s invasion of Terry’s right to privacy was not
unreasonable given the totality of the circumstances.
Rationale: The Fourth Amendment allows a police officer to reasonably conduct a
street search and seizure without probable cause pursuant to the “stop and frisk” rule.
Such a search and seizure is constitutional when the officer reasonably suspects
criminal activity and armed suspect(s), after the officer’s suspicion is not dispelled upon
identifying themselves to the suspect(s) and asking them reasonable questions, and if
the search for weapons is initially limited to patting down outer garments. The officer
articulated reasonable circumstances for detaining the subjects and suspecting the
presence of weapons, and the officer only patted Terry down outside his coat and
garments until he felt the revolver.
Disposition: The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling.