Commonwealth v. Matos
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Commonwealth v. Matos, 672 A.2d 769 (1996), is a Pennsylvania State Supreme Court case which further developed Pennsylvania Constitutional Law as affording greater privacy protections than those guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Specifically, where police possess neither probable cause nor reasonable suspicion, contraband discarded by a person fleeing a police officer are the fruits of an illegal seizure. The case departs from the ruling of California v. Hodari D., 499 U.S. 621 (1991), which held that fleeing suspects cannot be considered seized for purposes of the U.S. Constitution. It is a part of a family of state case law concerning the phenomenon of "new judicial federalism."[1] Pennsylvania criminal defense attorneys may cite the case as part of a motion to suppress physical evidence where the defendant discards drugs, weapons, or other contraband while fleeing police.
Commonwealth v. Matos | |
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Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Full case name | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Danny Matos |
Decided | February 26, 1996 |
Citation(s) | 543 Pa. 449, 672 A.2d 769 |
Case history | |
Prior action(s) | 427 Pa. Super. 43, 628 A.2d 419 (1993), 427 Pa. Super. 45, 628 A.2d 420 (1993), 427 Pa. Super. 1, 628 A.ed 398 (1993) Upholding trial court convictions for drug offenses. |
Subsequent action(s) | none |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Nix C.J. and Flaherty, Zappala, Cappy, Castille JJ. |
Case opinions | |
Where police possess neither probable cause nor reasonable suspicion, contraband discarded by a person fleeing a police officer are the fruits of an illegal seizure under the greater privacy protections of the Pennsylvania Constitution. |