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D.Kan.: Traffic stop for lane drift unjustified when it was windy

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendants were in a car that was identical to one they were looking for. They ran the license number, realized it was somebody else's, and saw that the owner of that car was wanted for firearms violations and was missing. The stop was based on reasonable suspicion. United States v. Wallace, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 7832 (9th Cir. April 14, 2009) (unpublished).* Defendant's co-occupant was arrested with him and they were separated. She was asked for consent, and it was obtained. The police had no duty to ask him first under Randolph. United States v. Brown, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 8099 (9th Cir. April 17, 2009). (This is about the 50th opinion to say this. Too many read too much into Randolph.) Defendant's traffic stop for drifting in his lane was unjustified because it was admittedly highly windy that day, and there was no showing of danger to another driver...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 20, 2009 (boomark / email).