Seizure of Emergency Room Patient’s Firearm Was Constitutional

A Minnesota man failed in his effort to toss out evidence of a firearm found in his jacket pocket while he was in a hospital emergency room, a federal appeals court ruled.

Dywan Conley was indicted on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to five years imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. Conley entered a conditional guilty plea, reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress.

Conley argued the evidence was the “fruit of an unconstitutional seizure” by hospital protection officers in violation of the Fourth Amendment. ...