Court Upholds Drug Pat-Down In Arrest in Dubuque

An appellate court ruling has upheld a drug seizure in a case that raised questions about when police can seize drugs in pat-downs. The Iowa Court of Appeals found that Iowa District Court Judge Michael Shubatt erred in ruling that the evidence uncovered during a search of now–20 year old Earnest Hunt Jr.,was inadmissible. Dubuque police stopped a car in which he was riding on Christmas Day 2019 because he was considered a person of interest in a recent shooting.  An officer patted him down looking for a gun and instead felt a plastic bag containing which contained crack cocaine.  The officer removed the bag from Hunt’s pocket and placed him under arrest. The case hinged on the U.S. Supreme Court’s “plain-feel exception,” which allows officers to seize anything found during a weapon pat-down that is “immediately apparent” to the touch to be contraband or otherwise evidence of a crime without a warrant. Shubatt in Hunt’s case ruled that the exception didn’t apply. But the appellate court found that the officer didn’t need to pinpoint the specific type of drug to rely on the exception.