United States v. Sharpe
United States Supreme Court
470 U.S. 675 (1985)
A federal agent suspected two vehicles traveling together were trafficking drugs, and while the agent detained one vehicle's driver, a highway patrolman pursued and eventually stopped the truck driven by Savage (defendant), who did not pull over immediately. After securing backup for the first vehicle, the agent traveled to the truck, smelled marijuana, searched it, and found drugs, having detained Savage for about twenty minutes total; the court of appeals held this extended detention without probable cause violated the Fourth Amendment, and the government sought review.
Whether a roughly twenty-minute roadside detention during a drug-trafficking investigation is unreasonably long under the Fourth Amendment where the suspect's own evasive driving contributed to the delay and the agent diligently pursued the investigation.