Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court

The Fourth Amendment requires all seizures to be reasonable. Reasonableness is determined “by balancing its intrusions on the individual’s Fourth Amendment interests against its promotion of legitimate government interests.” Delaware v. Prouse. The Court held that the state statute satisfies this standard. The statute does not change the character, duration or location of a stop and the officer’s demand for identity had an immediate purpose for the Terry stop.

The defendant’s Fifth Amendment argument failed to persuade the Court because disclosure of his name presented no real danger of incrimination. The Court has previously determined that the Fifth Amendment privilege only covers those communications that are testimonial, compelled, and incriminating. The defendant’s “refusal to disclose his name was not based on any articulated real and appreciable fear that his name would be used to incriminate him.”