Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Kansas Federal Defender

Criminal Law

: Kansas Federal Defender

How Slow is Too Slow?

By Melody Evans and Kirk Redmond

Nice reversal of a traffic stop by the 10th in US v. Valdez-Valdez. The trooper stopped Valdez-Valdez for impeding the flow of traffic -- he was driving 45 in a 55 mph zone. That didn't cut it for Judge Hartz. This is a fact-intense opinion, lots of transcript quotes. Here are a few of the highlights: --- The Court provides helpful distinction between a cop's mistake of fact and mistake of law, as the latter is not reasonable: An officer?s "failure to understand the plain and unambiguous law he is charged with enforcing . . . is not objectively reasonable.? --- This case should help any Edgerton argument regarding the federal courts' interpretation of ambiguous state traffic laws, including the recognition that state court interpretation of its own traffic law may not be dipositive...continue to full post

Full post as published by Kansas Federal Defender on May 13, 2008 (boomark / email).