State v. Rhodes

I must respectfully dissent to the Court’s decision in this case.

The Court determines the scope of a “Terry pat-down” must be strictly limited to a search for offensive weapons. While I concur with the application of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), as to the basis and purpose of the initial intrusion, I cannot agree with the rationale that a police officer who is legally conducting a Terry search and discovers illegal contraband must disregard that contraband just because it is not a weapon. This interpretation completely disregards the “plain view (touch)”…