Home > Great American Court Cases > Florida v. Royer

Legal Citation: 460 U.S. 491 (1983)

Petitioner
State of Florida

Respondent
Mark Royer

Petitioner's Claim
Dade County detectives did not violate Royer's Fourth Amendment rights when they detained him in an airport and opened his luggage to find illegal drugs.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Calvin L. Fox

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Theodore Klein

Justices for the Court
William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White (writing for the Court)

Justices Dissenting
Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger, Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
23 March 1983

Decision
The detectives violated Royer's Fourth Amendment rights by exceeding the legal limits of the encounter.