United States v. Christopher Birry

Summary

The Third Circuit affirmed the denial of Christopher Birry's motion to suppress evidence seized during a traffic stop in which Birry was the passenger. It held the stop was not unlawfully extended because the officers' questioning of Birry was safety-related—justified by the driver's apparent outstanding arrest warrant—and therefore on-mission. It further held that the full-body search did not exceed the scope of Birry's oral consent because a typical reasonable person would have understood the general exchange ('Can I search you?' / 'I don't have anything on me') as consent to a general search, not merely a pockets-only check. No separate opinions were filed.