Deportation Appeal Law
Rober Amsel
08/13/07

 In Brendlin v. California, one of few unaminous decisions from the Supreme Court in the 2006 term, the Court held that an automobile passenger is "seized" for purposes of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution when the vehicle is subjected to a traffic stop by police.  The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.   Accordingly, if it is determined that there was no lawful basis for the stop of the vehicle, the passenger may complain and seek suppression of any evidence of crime found in the car or on his or her person as a result of the unlawful stop.  The Robbins Tunkey law firm successfully litigated this issue in the 1988 Florida case State v. Montano, 527 So.2d 916 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988).