Reasonable suspicion

The investigative stop is predicated upon a reasonable suspicion, supported by articulable facts of past or present criminal activity, and based on aU of the circumstances. Probable cause is not required. Officers may stop, and briefly detain the person and their property. A pat down search of the person s outer clothing for weapons, to protect the officers and those in the immediate vicinity, may be conducted if the officer believes the person is armed and dangerous. Courts look to see if the good faith search was necessary and reasonable to insure the safety of others [40, 41]. Reasonable suspicion is more than a vague suspicion and is based on the totahty of the circumstances [42]. If probable cause is developed, the detention becomes an arrest. This doctrine has been appHed to vaHdate searches of airUne passengers. 

Inland or roving border patrol search and seizures are subject to traditional Fourth Amendment standards. A person, however, appearing only to have foreign ancestry, is not reasonable suspicion for the intrusion. Other factors must exist [78]. 

Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and flip-flops, Sam Mazza looked dejected as he made his first court appearance. He was facing three years in prison for a crime he says was intended as a private joke. His spirits appeared to lift, however, when his attorney carefully laid out his case The search of every locker in the school was unconstitutional. When Mazza s principal ordered the search, he was in violation of the reasonable suspicion component of legal searches. Since the note about a bomb threat (Mazza contends it was a joke) was found during an illegal search, the case had to be dropped. Mazza sat taller in his seat and smiled at his parents when his attorney concluded his remarks. 

If there is a reasonable suspicion of opioid dependency, initially administer a challenge dose of 0.1 mg/70 kg. If there is no evidence of withdrawal in 2 minutes, follow the recommended dosing. 

The Court s majority opinion, written by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, said that the lower court had applied too strict a standard. The Court ruled that the agents had a reasonable suspicion that the respondent was engaged in wrongdoing. The decision referred to earlier cases such as Terry v. Ohio (1968), which ruled that police with a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity (not necessarily probable cause) could stop someone for questioning, and United States v. Cortez (1981) in saying that police could base their decision to search on the totality of the circumstances. The characteristics observed by the agents in Sokolow s behavior had probative value even aside from the question of whether they amounted to use of a profile. 

San Erancisco enacts a regulation banning workplace drug tests unless an employer has a reasonable suspicion of drug use that poses a clear and present danger. ... 

A BAT-qualified immediate supervisor may not act as the BAT when one of his/her employees is being tested, unless no other BAT or STT is available. However, for reasonable suspicion testing, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations do not allow a person who makes a reasonable suspicion determination to conduct the alcohol test. 

The regulations require a driver to submit to an alcohol or drug test when the employer has reasonable suspicion to believe the driver has violated the drug and alcohol prohibitions in Part 382, Subpart B. The employer s suspicion must be based on specific, contemporaneous, articulable observations concerning the appearance, behavior, speech, or body odors of the driver. 

Alcohol Testing — Alcohol testing is authorized only if the observations are made during, just before, or just after the driver performs safety-sensitive functions. The person who makes the determination that reasonable suspicion exists to conduct an alcohol test shall not conduct the alcohol test. 

If a reasonable suspicion alcohol test is not administered within 2 hours following the observations, the employer shall prepare and maintain on file a record stating the reasons the alcohol test was not administered promptly. If the test was not administered within 8 hours, the employer shall cease attempts to administer the test, and shall prepare and maintain the record stating the reasons the alcohol test was not administered. 

If reasonable suspicion is observed but a reasonable suspicion test has not yet been administered, a driver shall not perform safety-sensitive functions mtil ... 

Drug Testing — An employer may require a driver to submit to a controlled substances test at any time reasonable suspicion exists while a driver is on duty. Observations may include indications of the chronic and withdrawal effects of controlled substances as well as the indications listed above. 

Documentation — A written record of the observations which led to the reasonable suspicion alcohol and/or drug test must be prepared and signed by the supervisor or company official who made the observations within 24 hours of the observed behavior or before the results of the alcohol and/or drug tests are released, whichever is earlier. 

Supervisors will use the training to determine whether reasonable suspicion exists to require a driver to imdergo testing. 

The MRO is not to consider whether the test was called for under the regulations. For example, if a driver tells an MRO that the employer misidentified her as the subject of a random test, or directed her to take a reasonable suspicion or post-acddent test without proper grounds under a DOT agency drug or alcohol regulation, the MRO must inform the driver that it is not his/her job to decide these issues, and the lab results will be verified as positive. 

The employer can conduct reasonable suspicion testing if the employee exhibits signs and symptoms of drug or alcohol use. 

You directly observe a driver using drugs or alcohol. If you only observe employee behavior or physical characteristics that suggest drug or alcohol use, you may want to conduct a reasonable suspicion test. 

Guidance Yes. A driver may continue to drive, so long as no other restrictions are imposed by 382.307 [the reasonable-suspicion testing requirements] or by law enforcement officials. 

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