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Name: U.S. v. Morales
Case #: 00-30191
Court: US Court of Appeals
District 9 Cir
Citation: 252 Fed.3d 1070
Summary

A district court’s order granting the defendant’s motion to suppress was affirmed where there was not sufficient indicia of reliability of a tip from an anonymous informant. In order for an anonymous tip to serve as the basis for reasonable suspicion, the tip must include a range of details, cannot simply describe easily observed facts, but must predict the suspect’s future movements, and must be corroborated by independent police observation. Here, the tip was that a white Ford Taurus with a Washington license plate, driven by two male Hispanics, was transporting methamphetamine from Spokane to Missoula. There was no information about the tipster’s identity or reliability, or information about the basis of his knowledge. Further, after stopping the vehicle, the officers failed to corroborate that the car was indeed headed to Missoula. Because the officers did not have a reasonable suspicion to believe that the defendants were engaged in criminal activity, the stop of the Taurus was unconstitutional.

Opinion Date: 06/07/2001