Brunson v. State

I agree with the majority that, based on the particular facts of this case, Detective Breckon had reasonable cause to believe that an offense had occurred, justifying a pat-down search of the appellant incident to his arrest. However, I disagree with the majority’s reliance on Wilson v. Maryland, _ U.S. _, 117 S.Ct. 882 (No. 95-1268, February 19, 1997), to justify the reasonableness of the search.

In Wilson the United States Supreme Court held that a police officer may order the passengers of a lawfully-stopped car to exit the vehicle. There, the defendant was a passenger in a lawfully-stopped…