Pennsylvania v. Mimms Case Brief

Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106, 98 S.Ct. 330 (1977)

FACTS: While on routine patrol, two Philadelphia police officers observed Mimms driving an automobile with an expired license plate. The officers stopped the vehicle for the purpose of issuing a traffic citation. One of the officers approached and asked Mimms to step out of the car and produce his owner's card and operator's license. Mimms alighted, and the officer noticed a large bulge under his sports jacket. Fearing that the bulge might be a weapon, the officer frisked Mimms and discovered in his waistband a .38-caliber revolver loaded with five rounds of ammunition. Mimms was arrested and convicted of a weapons offense.

ISSUES:

1) Was the ordering of Mimms out of his car reasonable?

2) Was the "pat down" justified?

HOLDINGS:

1) Yes

2) Yes

DISCUSSION: Ordering Mimms out of his car exposed little more than was already exposed. The additional intrusion was not a serious intrusion on the sanctity of the person, and hardly rises to the level of a petty indignity. Ordering Mimms out was reasonable and thus permissible under the Fourth Amendment. The bulge in Mimms jacket permitted the officer to conclude that Mimms was armed and thus posed a serious and present danger to the safety of the officer. In these circumstances, any officer of reasonable caution would likely have conducted the pat down.