and ordered Ms. Jones out. He received no response, so he entered the bathroom. He saw the client standing in a stall with the door wide open. He could not see the client's hands, and he demanded that she show them to him. The client did not respond, and instead turned away and walked to the corner of the stall. This caused the officer to lose sight of her, which lead him to believe that she was trying to conceal something. He ordered the client to pull up her pants. After receiving no response, he pulled them up. Ms. Jones hands were still behind her back, and out of view of the officer. The officer asked if she was trying to conceal something, she replied “I don’t use drugs.” The officer attempted to force Ms. Jones to show her hands, and a struggle ensued. The officer then placed the client under arrest for obstruction of a law enforcement officer. He then searched her, and found cocaine in a contact lens case in her purse.Ms. Jones contends that she had needed to use the rest room, however, the police say that there was no evidence that she used the rest room at the restaurant or within the first hour at jail.IV.DISCUSSIONThe Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” U.S. Const amend. IV. Thus, any warrantless search that a police officer makes must be justified by the circumstances. In Ms. Jones’ case, Officer Smith makes a more intrusive search than circumstances warranted. In Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408 (1997), a police officer ordered a passenger out of a car that had been stopped for a traffic violation. A bag of cocaine fell to the ground, when the passenger stepped out of the car. The court held that the police officer, who stopped the car, had the right to order all the passengers out of the car, in order to make sure that they were not concealin...
