Tag: reasonable suspicion

Officer Still Doesn’t Understand Need to Turn on Squad Car Video

Greenfield, Adair County, Iowa.  For the second time this year, a Judge ruled that an Adair County Deputy’s stop of a motorist was constitutionally invalid when he followed GRL’s client for miles, claiming that the vehicle weaved within its lane but mysteriously failed to activate his in-car video camera.  The Constitution requires that for an officer to validly stop a motorist, he/she must first have a identifiable traffic offense or reason to believe the individual was engaged in criminal activity. The Adair County Deputy has a history of following motorists for miles and then claiming that they weaved within their […]

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Crossing Fog Line Is NOT Reason to Believe Driver is Drunk

Atlantic, Cass County, Iowa. The Iowa Supreme Court confirmed what the Iowa Supreme Court said back in 2004, a single, isolated incident of a driver crossing over the fog line (solid white line on edge of road) does not create a sufficient reasonable suspicion that the driver is intoxicated. The facts in the case were captured by way of the Cass County Deputy’s squad car camera and showed that the defendant’s vehicle crossed over the fog line just once as it met the Deputy’s vehicle on a curve.  The Deputy turned around and followed the vehicle and did not observe […]

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13.7 Miles and Still No Probable Cause

Greenfield, Adair County, Iowa.  Local deputy followed GRL’s client for 13.7 miles and did not observe a single traffic violation.  Despite this fact, the Deputy still claimed that he had reason to believe the driver was operating while intoxicated and stopped the vehicle.  GRL moved to exclude all evidence obtained as a result of the traffic stop alleging a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.  The judge agreed, citing the fact that the Deputy failed to activate his squad car camera until he finally turned on his overhead lights and the portion of driving captured on […]

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Gone in ten (10) seconds- The “commonsense suspicion” exception

In 2000 the world was wowed by the ability of Nicholas Cage and his crew of bandits to swiftly and efficiently snatch high-end cars from their rightful owners in the movie Gone in 60 Seconds.  The Iowa Supreme Court has now wowed the citizens of Iowa by swiftly and efficiently allowing officers to snatch the privacy rights of citizens in only ten (10) second with their decision in State v. Steven Edward Struve (19-1614). In this case, the Iowa Supreme Court was asked to determine whether it was constitutional for a law enforcement officer to stop a driver’s vehicle after […]

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