| Court: | US Supreme Court |
| Facts: | Anonymous tip comes in that a young black man at a bus stop in a plaid shirt is carrying a gun. Officers arrive, spot the plaid lad, frisk him, and find a gun. Charged with carrying a concealed weapon, and possessing a firearm while under 18. |
| Posture: | FL Supreme court says the search was invalid. |
| Issue: | Is an anonymous tip that a person has a gun, supported by nothing else, sufficient cause to justify a stop and frisk? |
| Holding: | No. Affirmed. |
| Rule: | An anonymous tip lacking in the required indicia of reliability does not justify a stop and frisk. |
| Reasoning: | The informant was not accountable, didn't demonstrate veracity, and it was not known how this knowledge was acquired. There might be some circumstances (i.e., allegations that a person is carrying a bomb) that might justify the search by their potential consequences, but not in a simple firearm matter. |
| Dicta: | |