When a police officer suspects a person driving a vehicle of illegal activity, he can pull the vehicle over and investigate the situation as long as he has found some legitimate reason to make the driver stop. This is referred to as a pretext traffic stop, in which the officer essentially used an excuse to pull over the vehicle when he actually had another reason for doing so. When a person has been charged with a crime after a pretext traffic stop, a Criminal Attorney in Charles Town, WV can be of assistance. This lawyer can challenge the technical reason that his client was pulled over if it was not for an obvious issue such as a burned-out taillight or a failure to signal before turning at an intersection.
A law enforcement officer may decide to pull over a driver on the pretense that his windshield is not clean enough for safe visibility or that a hairline crack in the windshield deserves a notice for repair. For certain reasons, the officer may suspect that the driver is intoxicated or that he has drugs or an illegal weapon in the car. Once the driver has stopped the car, the officer can investigate him for driving under the influence if there is an odor of alcohol or marijuana, or an open container in the car that can be seen from the window.
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects citizens against unreasonable restrictions of freedom of movement. A traffic stop for no discernible legal reason is an example of an unreasonable restriction. If a police officer obtained evidence of DUI or another crime and the traffic stop was not a reasonable one under the law, the evidence will not be admissible in court.
Consider the situation with the hairline crack in the windshield. It is not uncommon for law enforcement to issue a fix-it ticket for a cracked windshield. However, if the individual has been driving this car with this particular flaw for many months or even years, other police officers have obviously decided that the crack was not enough of a problem to address. A person who believes he was stopped without legitimate justification may want to contact a law firm such as Bottner and Skillman, Attorneys at Law for legal representation.
