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Kashif Nashv.The State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A13A0200
DecidedJuly 16, 2013
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal ProcedureFourth AmendmentSearch and SeizureReasonable SuspicionTraffic StopMotion to SuppressReversalRemandDissent
Case Summary

After a Gwinnett County traffic stop for window tint, officers questioned Kashif Nash and the other occupants about drugs, requested a search, and summoned a drug-detection dog. The dog arrived about twenty minutes after the officer completed the warning citation and returned the driver’s license; the ensuing search produced marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine. Nash challenged the denial of his motion to suppress in this consolidated appeal with Antoine Davis. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that the officer unlawfully prolonged the stop. Multiple air fresheners, conflicting accounts of the travelers’ destination and relationships, and nervousness could contribute to suspicion, but the officer did not pursue the drug investigation until after completing the traffic mission and then detained the occupants while waiting for a K-9 unit nearly thirty miles away. The court concluded that the continued detention was not brief or reasonably tied to quickly confirming or dispelling suspicion. It reversed and remanded with direction to grant the suppression motions. Judges Andrews, Dillard, and Ray dissented, reasoning that the totality of the circumstances supplied reasonable suspicion and justified the additional detention while the dog was dispatched. The decision separately resolved Nash’s and Davis’s consolidated appeals.

Opinion

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Kashif Nash V. The State — The Atlanta Gleaner