Opinion · Valaw Virginia

LAWRENCE v. COMMONWEALTH, 247 Va. 339 (1994)

ALBERT JUSTIN LAWRENCE v. COMMONWEALTH OF Va., 443 S.E.2d 160 (Va. 1994)

Type
Opinion
Court
Valaw Virginia
Jurisdiction
Valaw
Date
1994-04-15
Topic
general

LAWRENCE v. COMMONWEALTH, 247 Va. 339 (1994) 443 S.E.2d 160 ALBERT JUSTIN LAWRENCE v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 49246Record No. 931539Supreme Court of Virginia. April 15, 1994 Present: All the Justices The judgment of the Court of Appeals affirming the trial court holding that a suspect consented to a search of his person and did not withdraw that consent during the course of the search is affirmed. Constitutional Law — Fourth Amendment — Search and Seizure — Consent The defendant was stopped at the train station by police officers who suspected that he was a courier of illegal narcotics.

Citator

UpLaw has not yet analyzed LAWRENCE v. COMMONWEALTH, 247 Va. 339 (1994). The absence of a flag is not a finding that it is good law.

LAWRENCE v. COMMONWEALTH,247 Va. 339(1994)
443 S.E.2d 160
ALBERT JUSTIN LAWRENCE v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
49246
Record No. 931539
Supreme Court of Virginia.
April 15, 1994
Present: All the Justices
The judgment of the Court of Appeals affirming the trial court holding that a suspect consented to a search of his person and did not withdraw that consent during the course of the search is affirmed.

Constitutional Law — Fourth Amendment — Search and Seizure — Consent

The defendant was stopped at the train station by police officers who suspected that he was a courier of illegal narcotics. He did not leave, although he was not immediately placed under arrest. He acted in a suspicious manner and gave inconsistent answers to questions asked him. He was arrested and eventually convicted of possession of illegal narcotics. He appeals.

1. A voluntary or consensual encounter between a police officer and a citizen does not implicate the Fourth Amendment as long as a reasonable person would understand that he or she could refuse to cooperate.
Appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeals of Virginia.Affirmed.
Elizabeth Dashiell Scher (Morchower, Luxton and Whaley, on brief), for appellee.

Margaret Ann B. Walker, Assistant Attorney General (James S. Gilmore, III, Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.
PER CURIAM.
[1] In this case, we awarded appellant an appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeals holding that the trial court did not err in ruling (1) that the appellant consented to a search of his person for the purpose of determining whether he possessed any illegal narcotics, and (2) that he did not withdraw that consent during the course of the search.Lawrence v. Commonwealth,17 Va. App. 140,435 S.E.2d 591(1993).Page 340

We have considered the questions, and for the reasons stated in the opinion of the Court of Appeals, we will affirm the judgment below.Affirmed.Page 341