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State of Iowa v. Komut Mai. IA Search & Seizure
A Des Moines police officer received a radio call of reckless driving by a silver Audi, including the vehicle's license number. While looking for the car, he received a second report that a man in the same car was pointing a gun at the 911 caller. As the officer drove north, a southbound vehicle stopped to tell him that the cars he was looking for were just behind her.
The officer stopped two cars, the silver Audi, as well as a tan Chevy. The officer testified that he hadn't observed any traffic violations by the tan Chevy. The officer drew his weapon, backup officers arrived, and everyone was ordered out of both cars. The passenger in the tan Chevy had marijuana and cash in his pocket. He was arrested. He made a motion to suppress the evidence, which was denied by Polk County District Judge Carla Schemmel. After conviction, he appealed to the Iowa Court of Appeals.
The appeals court reversed the conviction. No facts had been articulated alleging criminal activity by the occupants of the Chevy. It was not mentioned in either 911 call, and the other driver said only that the cars the officer was looking for were behind her, with no allegation of criminality. All evidence gained from the stop was inadmissible, and the case was reversed and remanded.
No. 18-1097 (Iowa Ct. App. Sept. 11, 2019).
Please see the original opinion for the court's exact language.
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Richard P. Clem is an attorney and continuing legal education (CLE) provider in Minnesota. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for 25 years. He has a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul and a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State, 468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).
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