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Knight-Walker entered a conditional guilty plea that allowed her to appeal the denied
suppression motion. She was sentenced to serve twelve months, with twelve months suspended.
Knight-Walker appealed to the Court of Appeals. A divided panel of that court reversed
her conviction, reasoning that Officer Allen’s questions impermissibly extended the duration of
the stop and, as a consequence, the contraband that the officer recovered must be suppressed.
Knight-Walker v. Commonwealth, Record No. 1118-23-1, 2025 Va. App. LEXIS 43 (Jan. 28,
2025). One judge dissented and would have affirmed the validity of the stop. Id.
ANALYSIS
The Fourth Amendment prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures.” U.S. Const.
amend IV. A traffic stop constitutes a “seizure” under the Fourth Amendment and is subject to
review for reasonableness. See Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 810 (1996). In this
instance, the reason for the stop is not at issue. Instead, the defendant challenges the officer’s
conduct during the stop, arguing that it was impermissibly extended.
A defendant’s claim that a seizure occurred in violation of the Fourth Amendment
“presents a mixed question of law and fact that is reviewed de novo on appeal.” McCain v.
Commonwealth, 261 Va. 483, 489 (2001). In reviewing such a claim, we are “required to give
deference to the factual findings of the trial court and to determine independently whether, under
the law, the manner in which the evidence was obtained satisfies constitutional requirements.”
Id. at 490.
I. T
HE OFFICER DID NOT IMPERMISSIBLY EXTEND THE TRAFFIC STOP.
Whether an officer acts reasonably during a traffic stop depends on the circumstances the
officer faces. No specific time period determines the acceptable duration of a traffic stop;
instead, reviewing courts must evaluate “‘what the police in fact do,’ and whether the officers Jump to an indexed page (10 of 10)