North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
At the time that defendant was stopped for a misplaced renewal sticker violation, there was no regulation directing her where to place the sticker. Nevertheless, the instructions on her registration card instructed her to place the sticker on the upper right corner of her license place, and she had placed the sticker on the upper left corner of the plate. If the arresting officer was mistaken in stopping defendant’s car, it was a reasonable mistake.
We affirm the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress the methamphetamine found in her car during the traffic stop.
At the time that defendant was stopped for a misplaced renewal sticker violation, G.S. § 20-66(c) required her to place the sticker “in the place prescribed by the [DMV] Commissioner.” The Commissioner had not yet updated our Administrative Code to account for the switch from a two-sticker system (one for the month and one for the year) to a single-sticker system (with the month and year on the same sticker). Nevertheless, G.S. § 20-41 also required the Commissioner to create and provide the registration card received with the sticker, and that registration card instructed vehicle owners to place the sticker on the upper right side of their license plates.
Even assuming the officer was not correct in his interpretation of the law, any mistake made by the officer was reasonable. There is no controlling decision in our caselaw stating that the information on the registration card cannot support a prosecution under § 20-66(c). And Heien v. North Carolina, 574 U.S. 54 (2014), held that reasonable suspicion to justify a traffic stop can arise from an officer’s mistake of law, so long as the mistake is reasonable.
The relevant law was ambiguous at the time of defendant’s traffic stop. It is not clear from the statute exactly where the single month/year sticker should be placed, only that it be displayed as “prescribed by the Commissioner.” Therefore, the officer relied on his “Law Enforcement Officers Quick Reference Statute Guide” and the information from the Commissioner on the back of the registration card to conclude that defendant had violated § 20-66(c), and there was reasonable suspicion to conduct the traffic stop on this ground. If the officer was mistaken, his mistake was reasonable.
Affirmed.
State v. Amator (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-116-22, 7 pp.) (Chris Dillon, J.) Appealed from McDowell County Superior Court (Thomas Davis, J.) Donna Wojcik for the state; Sharon Smith for defendant. 2022-NCCOA-293
