United States v. Aguiar’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

23 federal appellate · 7 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 41 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “... the fact that he met a number of drug courier profile characteristics did not supply probable cause to arrest him. * * * but there was more here than the fact that Aquiar met a number of well-known drug courier profile characteristics. There was the large bulge at the left ankle and the piece of white plastic that could be observed when Aquiar walked coupled with the testimony that [the police] observed others with such bulges and that the bulge had always turned out to be packets of illicit drugs. Nor can the observed bulge and white plastic be dismissed as just anoth er drug courier profile characteristic. For a variety of reasons, many innocent persons would exhibit some or even many of those characteristics, but few innocent people carry treasures in packets wrapped in plastic and strapped to their ankles. A United States Navy enlisted man in uniform without pockets may carry a package of cigarettes in his socks, but Aquiar was not in any such uniform. If other innocent people carry precious possessions in packets strapped to their ankles, they must be extremely rare. The fact that Aquiar met a number of drug courier profile characteristics — he ... traveled on a flight from Miami, a fertile source of narcotics, on a one-way ticket issued in a false name and paid for in cash and that there were no baggage claim checks — alone was not enough to constitute probable cause for arrest. Whether or not the policeman’s observance of the bulge at the ankle alone was enough to ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 418 Pa. Super. 614 - Commonwealth v. Mallory

2. “There was the large bulge at the left ankle and the piece of white plastic that could be observed when Augiar [sic] walked coupled with the testimony that Harky observed others with such bulges and that the bulge had always turned out to be packets of illicit drugs. Nor can the observed bulge and white plastic be dismissed as just another drug courier profile characteristic. For a variety of reasons, many innocent persons would exhibit some or even many of those characteristics, but few innocent people carry treasures in packets wrapped in plastic and strapped to their ankles. A United States Navy enlisted man in uniform without pockets may carry a package of cigarettes in his socks, but Augiar [sic] was not in any such uniform. If other innocent people carry precious possessions in packets strapped to their ankles, they must be extremely rare.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Lee