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Circuit split · criminal procedure

Whether de minimis uses of force incidental to a lawful Terry stop require probable cause under the Fourth Amendment, or whether reasonable suspicion suffices.

1 federal appellate case on this question, each acknowledging the disagreement in its own words.

  1. First Circuit Court of Appeals · March 24, 1994

    “Given both the persuasiveness and the prevalence of these precedents, we join the Seventh Circuit in rejecting the notion that an unheralded dictum in Hodari worked a sea change in the law by imposing a probable cause requirement for all de minimis uses of force, including those incidental to legitimate Terry stops.” — Joins other circuits
    Empirical analysis of this case →

The other side of the split

Decisions the acknowledging court(s) named as the opposing or joined side, quoted in the acknowledging opinion's own words.

  • Joined by · 8th Cir.United States v. Willis967 F.2d 1220
    “Willis, 967 F.2d 1220 , 1223 (8th Cir.1992) (holding, post-Hodari, that patting down a suspect does not automatically convert a Terry stop into a de facto arrest); Tom v.” — United States v. Zapata, acknowledging the split
  • Joined by · 7th Cir.Tom v. Voida963 F.2d 952
    “Voida, 963 F.2d 952 , 958 (7th Cir.1992) (similar; handcuffing of suspect does not automatically convert Terry stop into de facto arrest).” — United States v. Zapata, acknowledging the split

What the split turns on

Anchor precedents:
Hodari499 U.S. 626
Doctrines & tests:
Terry stop ·
de facto arrest ·
totality of the circumstances
Constitutional provisions:
Fourth Amendment

Cases are grouped by the legal question they announce a split on, classified from the court's own acknowledgment sentence. Verified acknowledgments only. Counter-side decisions are extracted from the acknowledging opinions' own text and linked only when the citation resolves in this corpus. See all circuit splits.