Refusal of consent to search cannot form basis for reasonable suspicion

SEARCH & SEIZURE United States v. Santos, No. 03-8059, ___ F.3d ___ (10th Cir. Apr. 6, 2005)(Wyoming). Appeal of district court denial of motion to suppress drug evidence seized as result of traffic stop. HELD: District court erred in concluding that defendant’s refusal to consent to search of suitcase in vehicle trunk was sufficiently suspicious in itself to provide reasonable basis for search. Refusal to consent to search cannot itself form basis for reasonable suspicion. However, because district court did not rely on defendant’s refusal of consent in its analysis of circumstances surrounding search of defendant’s vehicle and because denial of suppression motion was objectively supportable (just barely) on other grounds, denial of suppression motion is affirmed. Read the opinion here.