State v. Davis

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

GARIBALDI, J.

This appeal concerns the sensitive issue of investigatory stops of private citizens by police officers. Specifically, the issue here is whether, under the circumstances of this case, a police officer’s stopping and questioning of defendant was constitutional under the fourth amendment of the Federal Constitution and Article I, paragraph 7 of the New Jersey Constitution. Defendant, Henry Davis, indicted for burglary, N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2, and theft, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3, moved to suppress the evidence seized from him on the grounds that it was the…