The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Gonzalez, 930 F.2d 30 (9th Cir. 1990):
I concur based on other grounds. I have doubts about whether the stop was justified by founded suspicion, but I conclude that any error in declining to suppress the evidence was harmless. A constitutional error is harmless when it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that, if the jury had not considered the tainted evidence, its decision would have been the same based on the remaining evidence. United States v. George, 883 F.2d 1407, 1417 (9th Cir.1989) (quoting LePage v. Idaho, 851 F.2d 251, 253 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 972 (1988)).
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.