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OR: Questions beyond purpose of stop without reasonable suspicion are unlawful

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Asking the defendant for consent to search for weapons was not related to the purpose of the stop, so the search was unlawful. State v. Kirkeby, 2008 Ore. App. LEXIS 700 (May 21, 2008): This case is controlled by Rodgers. At the point at which Steele asked defendant for permission to search him, Steele testified that, although he had defendant's name, date of birth, and driver license number, he "probably" did not have everything he needed to issue defendant a citation because he did not have defendant's proof of insurance and vehicle registration information. However, even if that information was essential for the issuance of a traffic citation, there is nothing in the record to indicate that Steele asked defendant for those items or was waiting for defendant to retrieve them, nor that he was engaged in any other steps related to the investigation of the traffic offense...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 24, 2008 (boomark / email).