Michigan v. Chesternut (1987)
- Docket
- 86-1824
- Decided
- 1987-01-01
Summary
Question: Does a police officer violate the Fourth Amendment’s protection against seizures when he pursues a citizen without an objective basis for suspecting him of criminal activity? Conclusion: No. Justice Harry A. Blackmun delivered the unanimous opinion of the Court, which held the officers’ pursuit of Chesternut did not constitute a seizure prohibited by the Fourth Amendment; therefore the charges against him were improperly dropped. The test of whether a seizure violates the Fourth Amendment is based off whether a reasonable man would have concluded that the police had restrained his liberty so that he was not free to leave. Under the reasonable man standard, Chesternut was not seized before he discarded the drugs because a reasonable person would not conclude the police attempted to chase Chesternut simply by accelerating to catch up with him, followed by a short drive alongside him.