Criminal Practice – Search & Seizure – Probable Cause — Traffic Stop – Visual Speed Estimate — Insufficient

Criminal Practice – Search & Seizure – Probable Cause — Traffic Stop – Visual Speed Estimate — Insufficient (access required)

U.S. v. Sowards A deputy’s visual estimate of a driver’s speed – uncorroborated by radar or pacing and unsupported by any other indicia of reliability – did not provide probable cause to stop the driver for driving 75 in a 70-mph zone, and the 4th Circuit says the district court erred in denying defendant’s motion to suppress cocaine discovered in the car after the traffic stop.

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