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MA: Passenger without a seatbelt can be asked for ID to issue citation

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A passenger riding without a seat belt is in violation of state law, and, when the vehicle is stopped, the officer has reason to ask the passenger for identification to issue the citation. Commonwealth v. Washington, 2011 Mass. LEXIS 36 (March 3, 2011).* The court finds that the officer did not testify falsely about how some information was gathered about defendant’s AmTrak ticket. So, a Franks hearing is rejected. And, even if it he did testify falsely, it would not change the outcome of the suppression hearing because there was probable cause without it. United States v. McKenzie, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21202 (D. N.M. February 10, 2011).* While the N.C. following too close statute is subject to subjective interpretation by an officer, the “one car length per 10 miles per hour” is a reasonable evaluation and makes it less subjective...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 08, 2011 (boomark / email).