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OR: Delaying the purposes of a stop made it unreasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Stop exceeded the time necessary to effect its purposes, so the stop became unreasonable unless there is reasonable suspicion. State v. Rodgers, 2008 Ore. App. LEXIS 498 (April 16, 2008): The foregoing authorities stand for the proposition that, although an officer is free to question a motorist about matters unrelated to the traffic infraction during an unavoidable lull in the investigation, such as while awaiting the results of a records check, that officer is not similarly free to question the motorist about unrelated matters as an alternative to going forward with the next step in processing the infraction, such as the writing or issuing of a citation. When an officer has all of the information necessary to issue a citation but instead delays in processing it or in telling the motorist that he or she is free to go, the stop is no longer lawful unless the officer has reasonable suspicion of further criminal activity...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 19, 2008 (boomark / email).