Pennsylvania v. Mimms
United States Supreme Court
434 U.S. 106 (1977)
Philadelphia police stopped Harry Mimms (defendant) for an expired license plate and, following routine practice with no particular suspicion of criminal activity, ordered him out of the car; once outside, officers noticed a bulge in his jacket, frisked him, and found a concealed revolver, leading to his prosecution for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. The trial court admitted the gun and convicted Mimms, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed, finding the order to exit the vehicle, absent any suspicion, made the subsequent gun seizure an unconstitutional Fourth Amendment violation; the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether police may, as a matter of routine practice and without individualized suspicion, order a driver to exit his vehicle during an otherwise valid traffic stop, and whether a subsequently observed suspicious bulge justifies a protective frisk.