on review of summary opinion; for Miller: Martha K. Askins, SPD, Madison Appellate; case activity
Terry Stop – Reasonable Suspicion
Issue (composed by On Point):
Whether information obtained from a jail inmate and other, anonymous sources established reasonable suspicion for a Terry stop.
Neither the court of appeals summary order nor Miller’s petition for review is available on-line. The briefs filed in the court of appeals indicate that Miller’s car was stopped after the police received information that he was transporting drugs. The sources were a jail inmate facing parole revocation (10 months before the stop); several anonymous calls to a local Crime Stoppers line (1-2 months before the stop); and another anonymous tipster who called a deputy sheriff’s cell phone (a day or so before). The issue is, as search-seizure cases tend to be, highly fact-intensive, but if nothing else the questions of whether to label calls to the police “anonymous” and whether such calls should be assigned reliability under Terry, see State v. Williams, 2001 WI 21, 241 Wis. 2d 631, 623 N.W.2d 106, will likely be discussed. If you’re interested in the issue, consult Miller’s well-written briefs, accessible via the case activity link above.
