Frisks of Vehicles: Subjective vs. Objective Belief that a Vehicle Contains a Firearm

Frisks of Vehicles:  Subjective vs. Objective Belief that a Vehicle Contains a Firearm

By Robert Phillips, Deputy District Attorney (Ret.)

We don’t get many vehicle “frisk” cases, so I thought this one out of the federal First Circuit Court of Appeal (United States v. Guerrero (1st Cir. RI Dec. 6, 2021) __ F.4th __ [2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 35883].) might be of interest to you.  In Guerrero, Rhode Island officers responding to a “shots fired” call chased, and eventually stopped, a motor vehicle speeding from the area and driven by defendant.  A search of the vehicle looking for a gun resulted in the recovery of ammunition only. In Michigan v. Long (1983) 463 U.S. 1032 [103 S.Ct. 3469; 77 L.Ed.2nd 1201], the U.S. Supreme Court held that when law enforcement officers conduct investigative detentions, or Terry stops (Terry v. Ohio (1968) 392 U.S. 1 [88 S.Ct. 1868; 20 L.Ed.2nd 889].), involving automobiles, they may conduct a warrantless “car frisk” of the areas within the suspect’s “grab space,” so long as they have a reasonable suspicion that a suspect could immediately ....

© 2026 Legal Updates, LLC.
This content is protected by copyright law. Republishing or redistribution in any form without written permission is strictly prohibited. For licensing or reprint requests, contact support@legalupdates.com.