TDCAA    TDCAA Community  Hop To Forum Categories  Criminal    Traffic Stop Loophole?
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
Traffic Stop Loophole? Login/Join 
Member
posted
It has recently been pointed out to me that there is a basis for a traffic stop that does nto require reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
Transportation Code Section 521.025(b) says:

"A peace officer may stop and detain a person opreating a motor vehicle to determine if the person has a driver's license as required by this section".

Perhaps officer's should be made aware of this section so they can consider it in the future as a basis for their traffic stops? Am I misreading this?
 
Posts: 261 | Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Registered: February 21, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
Richard, I found this section about a year ago and thought I had found the Holy Grail. After researching the annotations, it appears we do not get to make use of it like you are thinking even thought the clear language of the statute seems to imply we can.
 
Posts: 3 | Location: Corpus Christi, TX | Registered: May 01, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
Might not there be some constitutional concerns about detaining someone without reasonable suspicion that an offense is being committed? Wasn't that one of the concerns about roadblocks? Just thinking out loud.
 
Posts: 293 | Registered: April 03, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
I believe that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Delaware v. Prouse renders that particular statute provision useless. The court heldthat when an officer stops a automobile and detains the driver in order to check the driver's DL and the vehicle's registration, it constitutes an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment if there is no articulable reasonable suspicion that the driver is unlicensed or the vehicle unregistered, or there is no other legal basis for the seizure.
 
Posts: 674 | Location: Austin, Texas, United States | Registered: March 28, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
So re: our over-zealous game warden who stops vehicles seen leaving fishing and hunting areas to "check for licenses and measure their fish", but who is really looking for DWI's.... Can I use this case to defer prosecution for lack of reasonable suspicion to stop?
 
Posts: 244 | Registered: November 02, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
What about Schenekl v. State, 30 S.W.3d 412 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000)? The statute in question there allows game wardens to stop boats without suspicion and conduct "water safety checks." The CCA held that the statute was constitutional and upheld the conviction for boating while intoxicated. The CCA distinguished Prouse. While Prouse is right on point as to the driver's license situation, the game warden situation might be different if the statute he is relying on is as narrow as the water safety statute.
 
Posts: 2138 | Location: McKinney, Texas, USA | Registered: February 15, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
  Powered by Social Strata  
 

TDCAA    TDCAA Community  Hop To Forum Categories  Criminal    Traffic Stop Loophole?

© TDCAA, 2001. All Rights Reserved.