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 ...

Tagged with: traffic stop

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 ...

Tagged with: traffic stop

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

State v. Castillo (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-161-16, 23 pp.) (Douglas McCullough, J.) Appealed from Durham County Superior Court (Richard Allen Baddour Jr., J.) N.C. App. Holding: A police officer had reasonable suspicion to extend a traffic stop where (1) defendant ...

Tagged with: traffic stop