Police officers violate the Constitution when they extend an otherwise completed traffic stop to allow time for a trained dog to sniff for drugs, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled.
The justices, voting 6-3, said that officers must let the driver leave unless they have specific reasons to suspect the car is carrying contraband.
Police authority “ends when tasks tied to the traffic infraction are -- or reasonably should have been -- completed,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the majority.
The ruling is a victory for Dennys Rodriguez, who was facing a five-year prison sentence for carrying a bag of methamphetamine in his car in 2012.
Rodriguez was stopped on a Nebraska highway for driving out of his lane and made to wait an additional seven or eight minutes for a drug-sniffing dog after he had received a warning ticket for the traffic violation.
The high court said a decade ago that police can conduct a dog sniff during a traffic stop without running afoul of the constitutional ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. The latest case tested whether officers could continue detaining a car while waiting for a trained dog to arrive.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Anthony Kennedy dissented. Writing for the group, Thomas said Ginsburg’s reasoning would link the constitutionality of a drug sniff to the officer’s efficiency in completing the traffic stop.
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
So now they just follow you until a k-9 unit can get there. Once they are close by they pull you over. They really get pissed when they don't find anything!
ReplyDeleteOr just take their time writing tickets.
DeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteOr just take their time writing tickets.
April 22, 2015 at 11:59 AM
no. read the article and maybe SC opinion.
Like I said. The article states long as it takes for the officer to complete the stop. Its not completed until the ticket is written. Again its the officers word. My computer took to long. It wouldn't print yada yada yada. To many loop holes for cops. Think outside the box officer before you try to belittle me. You do it all the time.
Delete12:40 - The court isn't going to say that the cop wrote the ticket too slowly. They already ruled that you can disqualify applicants for being too smart.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteLike I said. The article states long as it takes for the officer to complete the stop. Its not completed until the ticket is written. Again its the officers word. My computer took to long. It wouldn't print yada yada yada. To many loop holes for cops. Think outside the box officer before you try to belittle me. You do it all the time.
April 22, 2015 at 4:16 PM
It states, " enough time to conclude the stop, OR should have been completed."
Read it again. This time read what it says and not what you want it to say.
Again. If the cop says your honor my computer took a couple mins to get right then the judge will say OK it was in good faith officer. It stands. The fact is in district court police are 100% correct unless a person spends $500 to beat a $80 ticket. You pigs lie all the time! I've read what it says and know how things work.
Delete4:16 PM
ReplyDeleteHOW did you miss this?
Police officers violate the Constitution when they extend an otherwise completed traffic stop to allow time for a trained dog to sniff for drugs, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled.
The justices, voting 6-3, said that officers must let the driver leave unless they have specific reasons to suspect the car is carrying contraband.
Police authority “ends when tasks tied to the traffic infraction are -- or reasonably should have been -- completed,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the majority.
What is reasonable? Is it reasonable to let a person go for excessive speed without a ticket or warning? If for some reason the officer is having an issue completing the ticket he is still attempting to finish. So its reasonable for BIM to do what he needs to do to issue the ticket. Whether its restarting his computer or changing the paper in the printer. That may take extra time and what ya know a k9 just happens to roll by and stop to check on his buddy. Who is to know the difference in holding a person up for the dog and oops bear with me I had to reboot my computer?
Delete