NCJ Number
192178
Date Published
2001
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This Police Officer’s Handbook discusses search and seizure issues in connection with vehicle traffic stops.
Abstract
Often, during a single traffic stop an officer may arrest, search, and even impound a defendant's vehicle. Each of these steps requires independent legal justification. While all are important, the single pivotal issue often becomes proper legal justification for the initial traffic stop. The officer must have either reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe that a crime either is being committed or has been committed. The handbook discusses a case where a traffic stop for non-compliance with South Carolina's "window tinting" law uncovered cocaine in the car's trunk. The driver of the stopped vehicle was charged with a single count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to 37 months of imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the traffic stop was invalid and the drugs found during the subsequent vehicle search should have been suppressed by the district court. The handbook includes commentary on the case and a Post Test. It also includes a brief description of South Carolina's multi-departmental computer crimes unit within the State Law Enforcement Division.