Florida v. Royer

The defendant paid cash for a one-way airline ticket to New York City at Miami International Airport under an assumed name, which was legal at the time. The defendant also checked his two suitcases bearing identification tags with the same assumed name. Two officers had previously observed him and believed that his characteristics fit a “drug courier profile.” They approached him. Upon request the defendant produced his airline ticket and driver’s license, which bore his correct name. The defendant explained that a friend had made the ticket reservations in the assumed name. The officers told the defendant that they were narcotics investigators and that they had reason to suspect him of transporting narcotics. Without returning his ticket or driver’s license, the officers asked him to accompany them to a small room about forty feet away. Without the defendant’s consent, one of the officers retrieved his luggage and brought it to the room. Although he did not orally consent to a search of the luggage, the defendant produced a key and unlocked a suitcase in which marijuana was found.