Our office recently secured a successful ruling on a suppression motion in the Judicial District of Bridgeport. The case centered on an unconstitutional search and seizure during an investigative stop by the Bridgeport Police Task Force. Although our client was initially detained for being in the company of an armed individual, the court found that the search—conducted under the guise of a pat-down for weapons—exceeded constitutional limits.

Citing the Plain Feel Doctrine as established in Minnesota v. Dickerson and applied in Connecticut's State v. Trine, the court concluded that the officer unlawfully manipulated an object in our client's pocket before determining it was narcotics, making the search and seizure unconstitutional. As a result, the evidence was suppressed.