TRAFFIC STOPS & DUI

Traffic Stop Law Relevant DUI Cases

• The Fourth Amendment applies to brief investigatory stops. United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 878 (1975).
• The temporary detention of individuals during a traffic stop is a seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 809–810, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996).
• Reasonable suspicion is “specific, articulable facts which, together with objective and reasonable inferences, form the bases for suspecting that the particular person detained is engaged in criminal activity.”
  United States v. Lopez–Soto, 205 F.3d 1101, 1105 (9th Cir.2000).
• Reasonable suspicion is based on the totality of the circumstances. United States v. Montero–Camargo, 208 F.3d 1122, 1129 (9th Cir.2000) (en banc ).
• An officer evaluating whether reasonable suspicion is present is entitled to draw on his or her “own experience and specialized training to make inferences from and deductions about the cumulative information available.”
  United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 273, 122 S.Ct. 744, 151 L.Ed.2d 740 (2002).
• Because a traffic stop for a suspected violation of law is a seizure of the occupants of the vehicle, it “must be conducted in accordance with the Fourth Amendment.” Heien v. North Carolina, 574 U.S. ––––, 135 S.Ct. 530, 536, 190 L.Ed.2d 475 (2014).