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IN: RO's suspension reason enough for a stop unless it is obvious driver is not RO

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A vehicle license check that shows that the registered owner of a vehicle has a suspended drivers license is reasonable suspicion for a stop, unless it is obvious that the driver could not be the registered owner. Armfield v. State, 2009 Ind. LEXIS 1533 (December 18, 2009): The safety of Indiana's roadways strongly points toward initiating a Terry stop when the police officer knows that the registered owner of a vehicle has a suspended license. But this legitimate public safety concern is, of course, subject to the Fourth Amendment right to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. We believe that this right is vindicated by requiring that officers must be unaware of any evidence or circumstances which indicate that the owner is not the driver of the vehicle before initiating a Terry stop...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on December 28, 2009 (boomark / email).