illegal traffic stop?

[johnmpav]

while sitting in traffic an officer ran my tag and found that the owner of the car had a suspended license. i am the owner but i did not know my license was suspended. i had the suspension lifted that day as i need my license for my job. i now face $500+ in fines or plead to a lesser fine with points on my license. but, was this a legal stop?

 

[army judge]

Doing a rolling "28" isn't a traffic stop.

What hours are you allowed to drive?

What time was the alleged incident?

You know why you received the citation.

You weren't comlying with the terms if your hardship, were you?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[johnmpav]

no. i was pulled over just based on the fact that the cars owner had a suspended license. no moving violation was committed, car was legal. just trying to figure out if i should not have been pulled over at all.

 

[CdwJava]

Many courts have ruled that it is reasonable to assume that the registered owner is driving the car. If the driver is a male, the registered owner is male, and the R/O is suspended, then it is often deemed reasonable to make an enforcement stop for the limited purpose of identifying the driver to determine if he is the suspended driver.

All that is needed for a detention is the reasonable suspicion to believe that criminal activity is afoot. If the officer saw a male driving and the registered owner of the car was a suspended male, then that is often all that is necessary. Some courts might want a little more, but that will depend on the court.

You are certainly free to go to court and have your attorney argue to suppress the evidence by arguing a lack of reasonable suspicion for the detention. It is a slim argument, and will likely cost you (in attorney's fees) three to four times the fines you say you have to pay, but if you want a clean record and feel it is worth the gamble to try, go ahead and give it a whirl.