Why Can the Police Stop a Car in Minnesota?
One of the investigative tools that the police use here in Minnesota to “fight crime” is to pull over cars and detain people. However, they can‘t do this on a whim or a hunch. To stop your vehicle, the officer must have a reasonable articulable suspicion that you are committing a crime or committing a traffic violation in order to pull you over. It is critical to remember that any officer that stops your car without reasonable articulable suspicion has violated your constitutional rights. If this is the case, you may be able to suppress any evidence the officer finds as a result and even get the entire case dismissed. While this certainly has implications for DWI cases, it could also apply to drug and any other kinds of criminal cases as well. If you are facing criminal charges and your case involves a stop by the police, make sure that you consult with an experienced Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney.
“A bad stop could result in suppression of all evidence and potentially a complete dismissal of all charges.”
What is Reasonable Suspicion in Minnesota and How Does it Work?
To make an investigatory stop, an officer must have a reasonable articulable suspicion that a crime has been or is being committed or that a traffic offense has been committed or there is a vehicle equipment violation.;
The test for determining the legality of a stop of a motor vehicle is whether the peace officer had a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the driver or passenger(s) of criminal behavior, or that they were otherwise engaged in wrongdoing;
There standard is very low, less than a preponderance of the evidence or probable cause;
There must be “at least a minimal level of objective justification, and the stop must not be based upon “mere whim, caprice, or idle curiosity.” It can’t just be a hunch.
The ultimate standard is reasonableness and whether the officer, under all of the circumstances, acted reasonably.
COMMON EXAMPLES THAT ARE ENOUGH FOR REASONABLE ARTICULABLE SUSPICION
The standard for stopping a motor vehicle is very low and yet, officers must still have legal justification for doing so. That being said, they don’t need to see a crime in order to stop you. The standard can be far lower than that. The problem is once you are stopped, that can open up another can of worms. Common examples of legal stops include:
Driving without Headlights. Driving without headlights on, even at dusk, may be enough to stop a vehicle. The problem is that if it is a close call, courts frequently defer to the officer’s “training and experience.”
Speeding one mile over the speed limit. Even if you are driving “with the flow of traffic,” and officer can pull you over. An officer can stop you for going too slowly or even one mile over the speed limit. As we’ve said, the standard is low.
A broken taillight. Police regularly stop cars for equipment violations. Of course, these frequently happen near closing times at bars and near bars. Is this a coincidence? We know the answer. However, this justification is regularly enough for the courts.
“The problem with these so-called legal stops is once you are stopped, that can open up another can of worms. This includes what the officer sees, hears, smells, perceives and more and it is all frequently subjective.”
If you are facing criminal charges and those charges resulted from a traffic stop, it is imperative that you sit down with an experienced Minnesota criminal defense attorney. If it was a “bad stop”, you may be able to get all of the evidence from that bad stop thrown out of court which may result in the dismissal of the case.
Jack Rice is a former prosecutor, former CIA Officer and Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist. Jack is also the founder of Jack Rice Defense, a boutique criminal defense firm in St. Paul, Minnesota. Contact Jack Rice Defense for a free confidential consultation or call 651-447-7650 or 612-227-1339.