A traffic stop is valid if it is supported by reasonable suspicion. During a valid traffic stop, an officer may demand the driver’s license and registration, may run a computer check based on those documents, and so on. But what if the reasonable suspicion supporting the stop dissipates soon after the stop is made?
traffic stops
Drug Dog Legal Update
North Carolina’s appellate courts have recently issued two important opinions on the use of drug dogs, and the United States Supreme Court has granted certiorari in another drug dog case. This post summarizes these recent developments.
Court of Appeals Strictly Limits Scope of Traffic Stops
Yesterday, the court of appeals decided a very important traffic stop case. Its ruling strictly limits officers to pursuing the original justification for a traffic stop, and prohibits officers from extending the stop even briefly for most other investigative activity. This is an area of the law that has been muddled in North Carolina, and … Read more
Updated Traffic Stops Paper Now Available
I realize that the last update was only a few months ago, but I have updated my traffic stops paper again. It now includes a discussion of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Navarette v. California, __ U.S. __, 134 S.Ct. 1683 (2014) (holding that a motorist’s anonymous 911 call reporting that a particular vehicle had run … Read more
Traffic Violations You May Not Even Know You Are Committing
Law enforcement officers may stop a vehicle when they have reasonable suspicion to believe that the driver has violated a traffic law. See State v. Styles, 362 N.C. 412, 415, 665 S.E.2d 438, 440 (2008). This rule applies regardless of whether the offense is a felony, misdemeanor or infraction, and regardless of whether the officer … Read more
Supreme Court Rules that Anonymous Tip Provides Reasonable Suspicion of Impaired Driving
The Supreme Court just decided a case that significantly changes North Carolina law regarding whether a traffic stop can be made based on an anonymous 911 call alleging bad driving. The case is Navarette v. California, 572 U.S. __ (2014). The full opinion is here. This post summarizes the ruling and considers its implications for … Read more
Updated Paper on Traffic Stops
I’ve just completed a revision of my paper on the law of traffic stops. It covers both when an officer may make a stop and what an officer may do in the course of the stop. It’s written for judges, lawyers, and officers, and is available here for free. As always, I welcome feedback on … Read more
License Plate Readers
Law enforcement use of automated license plate readers has become very widespread. It raises several interesting legal and practical issues which I briefly explore below. What are they? License plate readers are electronic devices – basically, enhanced cameras – that scan each passing car, detect the license plate, read it, and record it. The devices … Read more
Slow Driving
I’ve had several questions lately about driving slowly, so I took some time this weekend to add a section to my paper on traffic stops on the subject. The new section appears below as today’s blog post, and the complete updated paper is available here. Driving substantially under the posted speed limit is not itself … Read more