Ramirez-Tamayo v. Texas

At issue for the Court of Criminal Appeals' review was whether the record supported the trial court’s decision that a peace officer had reasonable suspicion of narcotics possession to continue the detention of a driver beyond the purpose of the stop for a traffic violation. In his appeal of the denial of his motion to suppress, Elvis Elvis Ramirez-Tamayo argued that the deputy who stopped him lacked reasonable suspicion to prolong his detention after deciding to issue him a warning ticket for speeding, and the court of appeals agreed. The State argued on appeal that the court of appeals erred by failing to defer to the trial court's determination that the credible officer’s training and experience were adequate to support his inferences and deductions that the otherwise seemingly innocent circumstances led to reasonable suspicion of narcotics possession in this case, and by failing to consider the totality of the evidence in examining whether there was reasonable suspicion. The Court of Criminal Appeals agreed with the State, reversed the the court of appeals, and reinstated the trial court’s judgment of conviction. View "Ramirez-Tamayo v. Texas" on Justia Law