A new Michigan appellate court ruling means police can stop someone and ask for a concealed pistol license if they have reason to think the person is carrying a gun.
The case centers around a man who was arrested after three Detroit police officers noticed he may have had a gun under his shirt.
The man allegedly kept walking. But the appearance of a gun was enough for police to stop him, pat him down, and discover he had a gun but didn’t have a license for it.
His lawyer argued the search was unjustified and tried to get it thrown out. The lower court agreed.
But the unanimous Michigan Court of Appeals panel cited a handful of federal cases in its opinion that found police were justified in conducting a warrantless search.
The panel determined that under Michigan law, carrying a concealed gun in the first place is enough to give the appearance of a crime.
“[I]n Michigan, it is a prima facie violation of state law that is rebuttable by raising the issue of licensure and offering proof that the possession was lawful,” an unpublished federal case cited in the Michigan decision read.
A key point in the argument is that Michigan’s gun laws require concealed pistol license holders to present their license to law enforcement when asked.
Law enforcement doesn’t need to observe any further suspicious behavior to ask.
