California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Delapena, H041363 (Cal. App. 2015):
"In ruling on a motion to suppress, the trial court must find the historical facts, select the rule of law, and apply it to the facts in order to determine whether the law as applied has been violated. [Citation.] We review the court's resolution of the factual inquiry under the deferential substantial evidence standard. The ruling on whether the applicable law applies to the facts is a mixed question of law and fact that is subject to independent review. [Citation.]" (People v. Ramos (2004) 34 Cal.4th 494, 505.)
We first address defendant's claim that his detention was not justified by reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. " 'The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures of persons, including unreasonable investigative stops. [Citations.]' " (People v. Leath (2013) 217 Cal.App.4th 344, 350 (Leath).) Before an officer can detain someone, there must be reasonable suspicion to believe that the person is engaged in criminal activity. "[T]he temporary detention of a person for the purpose of investigating possible criminal activity
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may, because it is less intrusive than an arrest, be based on 'some objective manifestation' that criminal activity is afoot and that the person to be stopped is engaged in that activity. [Citations.]" (People v. Souza (1994) 9 Cal.4th 224, 230.)
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