4th Amendment Violation.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. David Holly

Case No.: 19-1216

Officials: ROVNER, SCUDDER, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: 4th Amendment Violation

Unreasonable seizures violate the Fourth Amendment while voluntary encounters with the police do not. This case implicates the dividing line. A police officer rushed to approach David Holly in Chicago's Altgeld Gardens Housing Complex and asked if he had a gun. Holly answered yes, which resulted in his arrest and subsequent conviction for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Holly later moved to suppress the gun, contending that the officer's approach and questioning constituted an impermissible seizure. The district court denied that motion after finding that Holly consented to the encounter...