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NC: Stop was extended without justification; consent invalid

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The driver's alleged consent to search was obtained after the stop was unreasonably extended for the 20 minutes of the stop without justification. There was no problem with his papers, and he should have been allowed to go on his way. There was no evidence in the record that driver's papers were returned to him before consent was asked for, and the request for consent was directly stated to be about drugs, something that had nothing to do with the stop. Defendant was the passenger in the car who had standing under Brendlin, and he had to have standing or drivers could be stopped just to search passengers. Also, the driver was patted down without justification. State v. Jackson, 2009 N.C. App. LEXIS 1363 (August 18, 2009): Such interrogation was indeed an extension of the detention beyond the scope of the original traffic stop as the interrogation was not necessary to confirm or dispel Bradley's suspicion that Roth was operating without a valid driver's license and it occurred after Bradley's suspicion that Roth was operating without a license had already been dispelled...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 31, 2009 (boomark / email).