Thomas v. United States

The issue raised by this case is whether the police had a reasonable suspicion based on specific and articulable facts to support a protective frisk of the automobile under Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). In my view, Officer Callis did not have a reasonable suspicion based on specific and articulable facts to justify reaching into the automobile and removing the ski mask from the bag, and thus there was no probable cause to search the trunk under United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 102 S.Ct. 2157, 72 L.Ed.2d 572 (1982). Accordingly, I dissent.

The application…