Florida v. Bostick
| Florida v. Bostick | |
|---|---|
| Argued February 26, 1991 Decided June 20, 1991 | |
| Full case name | State of Florida v. Terrance Bostick |
| Citations | 501 U.S. 429 (more) 111 S. Ct. 2382; 115 L. Ed. 2d 389 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Bostick v. State, 554 So. 2d 1153 (Fla. 1989) |
| Holding | |
| A search of a passenger on a bus is not unreasonable simply because the search takes place on a bus. The search is reasonable if, under all the circumstances, the suspect felt free to decline the officers' request for a search and leave the scene. | |
| Court membership | |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | O'Connor, joined by Rehnquist, White, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter |
| Dissent | Marshall, joined by Blackmun, Stevens |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. IV | |
Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429 (1991), was a United States Supreme Court case that overturned a per se rule imposed by the Florida Supreme Court that held consensual searches of passengers on buses were always unreasonable. The Court ruled that the fact that the search takes place on a bus is one factor in determining whether a suspect feels free to decline the search and walk away from the officers.