Unlawful Stop

**Adski** · 01-26-2009, 04:37 PM

My question involves search and seizure law in the State of: California. Two friends and I were in my friends car and we drove up to the top of this hill which was a dead end and there was already a cop up there busting someone. So my friend makes a U-turn and the cop puts his hand out in front of him and walks in front of the car and tells us to stop. We stop and roll the window down, we tell him were here for the view and he says he smells the weed so give it up. My friend gives it up and he tickets us all for Possesion of Marijuana. We didnt do anything wrong we were in a registed vehicle nothing wrong at all with the car and we were just going to leave. Can he stop us like that? Isn't that illegal? Can we fight this as an unlawful stop. Thank you for anyones opinion.

**cyjeff** · 01-26-2009, 05:23 PM

Let me ask a couple of details...

Was the place you were going a place where people go to, um, do things that are best done without prying eyes?

Further, this HAD to look a little suspicious... an isolated dead end... and the moment you see a cop busting someone you immediately start to high tail it out of there.

**cyjeff** · 01-26-2009, 05:25 PM

Ya know what, nevermind.

he had the right to stop you.. you rolled down the window and then the driver gave over the pot.

The correct answer when a police officer says, "do you have drugs" is "No, sir".

**Adski** · 01-26-2009, 05:58 PM

We didnt just book out of there we did everything correct made a correct u-turn. What are you supposed to do when a cop is there? The driver didnt give up the weed the passenger did and I was in the back seat. And why would someone lie about having drugs if they are going to search you and find it anyways. So what if it was suspicios that gives him a right to stop us. He said the driver made a uturn and almost hit his police vehicle which is completly false. And while he was busting us another car came up and he didnt do anything to them.

**aaron** · 01-26-2009, 06:36 PM

Did the second car almost hit his cruiser?

You can try to convince a court that the driver didn't almost hit the cruiser. Your better bet, assuming you didn't say "It's mine", may be to try to argue that you weren't in possession (even if others in the car were). You should discuss your options with your lawyer.

What's the exact charge against you?

**BOR** · 01-27-2009, 09:05 AM

Quoting Adski

My question involves search and seizure law in the State of: California. Two friends and I were in my friends car and we drove up to the top of this hill which was a dead end and there was already a cop up there busting someone. So my friend makes a U-turn and the cop puts his hand out in front of him and walks in front of the car and tells us to stop. We stop and roll the window down, we tell him were here for the view and he says he smells the weed so give it up. My friend gives it up and he tickets us all for Possesion of Marijuana. We didnt do anything wrong we were in a registed vehicle nothing wrong at all with the car and we were just going to leave. Can he stop us like that? Isn't that illegal? Can we fight this as an unlawful stop. Thank you for anyones opinion.

The officer "seized" your vehicle under the 4th AM, true. To effectively argue for any evidence suppression, you or counsel must show the court the stop was UNconstituional.

WHY he seized your car is the issue. Was the area known for drug use, prostitution, closed for the night, etc.

If no direct law was broken to warrant a seizure the "totality of the circumstances" need to be weighed.

By making a U turn after seeing the police as described, it probably is cause to conduct an "investigatory stop".

**Adski** · 01-27-2009, 11:11 AM

They didnt seize the car they just gave us tickets for possesion of less than 28.3 grams and there was more than one car that did the same thing we did and no its a really nice neighborhood but a lot of kids go up there. And no we didnt just make a quick u turn we saw the cops drove up regular and made a u turn if we had stopped and made a 3 point turn that would have been suspicious. My lawyer says it was illegal.

**BOR** · 01-27-2009, 12:08 PM

Quoting Adski

They didnt seize the car they just gave us tickets for possesion of less than 28.3 grams and there was more than one car that did the same thing we did and no its a really nice neighborhood but a lot of kids go up there. And no we didnt just make a quick u turn we saw the cops drove up regular and made a u turn if we had stopped and made a 3 point turn that would have been suspicious. My lawyer says it was illegal.

By "seized" I did not mean the car was impounded or subjected to forfieture, I meant you were detained, as there was no difference to being stopped on a highway as to where you were. When STOPPED, your car was "seized" for 4th AM purposes.

If you lawyer claimed the stop, or seizure, was unconstitutional at it's inception, he can argue the contraband can not be admitted as evidence under the Exclusionary rule.

**chiefva** · 02-26-2009, 07:52 PM

Based on the circumstances, you saw the police, then made a u-turn is reasonable suspicion, a prerequisite to probable cause. Probable cause, he smelled weed when the window was rolled down. The stop probably would hold up in court. You do not know why he stopped the other car, it could have been anything even a murder? that would be the "Reasonableness of a prudent person, to investigate the car that saw the police and u-turned.

**ladyblue** · 03-10-2009, 11:05 AM

I live in Tennessee. My daughter quit doing drugs 65 days ago. This is the first time in decades she has stayed clean this long and seemed serious about staying clean. She took her son to football practice one day because he was begging to go and I was not home from work yet. She does not have license due to several driving on revoked tickets she received while she was doing drugs. She also has one DUI from about 6 months ago. She was taking a chance when she took Jesse to practice, but she was also trying to make up for all the time she has been away from him by taking him someplace he really wanted to go. She was blue lighted because her lights would not come on and it was dusk. She had running lights but no headlights. When they found that she had no license, they arrested her and this is what astounded me - they seized her car. I don't know how to look this up. Tennessee Code Annotated is not user friendly. Does anyone know if this is legal or is this all part of the "police state" that is spreading like wildfire in this country? The police also searched her car and accused her of having drugs and brought in the K9. There was nothing in her car besides clothes and the normal things one has in a car.