Police hear from a confidential informant that a guy with a certain physical description and license plate number is a drug dealer. Later the CI tells the police that the same guy told the CI he just got some new product and it’s available for sale. Officer finds a man who fits the description and sees him shake someone’s hand in a parking lot. No sight of money or money. But, based on his about 4 years of “training and experience,” the officer concludes it was a drug sale, stops and frisk the man, and finds illegal drugs. Fourth Circuit: Motion to suppress should have been granted. Handshakes just aren’t that suspicious a thing and cops "must not overlook facts that tend to dispel reasonable suspicion." Reversed. Concurrence: While we're here, "given what we now understand (and are still coming to understand) about bias," the whole “training and experience” thing has gone way too far. Courts can and should be "dialing down the deference."
The case is United States v. Drakeford, 19-4912 (4th Cir. Mar. 26, 2021).