A state trooper’s decision to stop a driver who flashed an obscene hand gesture wasn’t justified, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled Friday, overturning lower court decisions. The justices ruled unanimously that the evidence showed Trooper Paul Stevens lacked reasonable ...

Tagged with: traffic stop

A man’s hand gestures, demeanor, violent criminal history, and other factors were enough for a police officer to search his vehicle during a late-night traffic stop in a high-crime area because the officer feared he was armed and dangerous, a ...

Tagged with: traffic stop

  A North Carolina state trooper had the right to stop an SUV after he saw a passenger extending his middle finger out the window because the gesture could have been construed as disorderly conduct, a divided North Carolina Court ...

Tagged with: traffic stop

Where defendant crossed a double yellow line, the arresting officer had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant. Given defendant’s behavior and the time it took the officer to run a records check, an additional six- to seven-minute wait for a drug-sniffing ...

Tagged with: traffic stop

After stopping a car for swerving and speeding, a well-trained law enforcement officer did not unconstitutionally extend the stop when the driver exhibited extreme nervousness, her and the defendant-passenger’s stories about their travel plans and their relationship didn’t match, and ...

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Today’s street slang includes the popular phrase/piece of advice, “stay in your lane.” Laconically, it translates to “mind your business.” Well, a Henderson County motorist learned from the state Supreme Court that he could adhere to both the literal and ...

Tagged with: traffic stop

State v. Reed (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-325-16, 24 pp.) (Robert Hunter Jr., J.) (Chris Dillon, J., dissenting) Appealed from Johnston County Superior Court (Thomas Lock, J.) N.C. App. Holding: A state trooper extended defendant’s traffic stop by asking defendant to ...

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State v. Crandell (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-193-16, 18 pp.) (Donna Stroud, J.) Appealed from Johnston County Superior Court (Claire Hill, J.) N.C. App. Holding: The arresting officer saw defendant follow a known pattern: driving into the area adjacent to a ...

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The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office plans to seek Supreme Court review of a recent appeals court decision that threw out an accused heroin trafficker’s conviction on Fourth Amendment grounds. In a 2-1 decision handed down May 10, the North ...

Tagged with: heroin traffic stop

State v. Bullock (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-166-16, 35 pp.) (Martha Geer, J.) (Douglas McCullough, J., dissenting) Appealed from Durham County Superior Court (Orlando Hudson, J.) N.C. App. Holding: By requiring the defendant-driver to submit to a pat-down search and questioning ...

Tagged with: traffic stop