Utah Fourth Amendment
Issues - Davis County
Can I be pulled over by police for going UNDER the speed
limit in Davis County?
It is common for police to stop a driver for going faster than the
posted speed limit. But there are circumstances where Utah law does
allow an officer to pull you over for driving more slowly than the
posted limit. This is rare. But if you have been arrested based on
information and evidence obtained by police after you were stopped for
driving too slowly, you should consult with an experienced
criminal
defense attorney.
Utah criminal lawyer Stephen Howard provides legal services to clients
in Davis County and throughout Utah. He has handled thousands of
serious felony and misdemeanor cases for clients during his career.
Contact us today to
see how we can help you.
What is the basis for a police stop when the driver is going
under the speed limit?
Driving under the speed limit is not, by itself, a crime. In theory,
the posted speed limit serves as prima facie evidence of the maximum
safe speed at which a driver may operate a motor vehicle on a given
road. Going more slowly than that maximum safe speed is not, by itself,
a crime.
In order to justify pulling a driver over for going too slowly, a
police officer must be able to articulate a set of facts that give rise
to a reasonable suspicion of some crime. Driving so slowly that you are
impeding the normal flow of traffic can form the basis for a traffic
citation. But if slow speed by itself is
not impeding traffic, a police officer may still be able to articulate
grounds sufficient to justify stopping a slow driver.
Absent some specific traffic violation, a police officer must be able
to connect the slow driving to a reasonable suspicion of some other
crime. For example, if police have received reports that occupants of a
white sedan (make and model unknown) are breaking into vehicles late at
night in a specific neighborhood, and an officer observes a white Honda
Accord driving slowly passed other parked cars while a passenger peers
out the window into the parked car, a police officer could argue that
these facts supported a reasonable suspicion that the occupants of this
vehicle may be involved in the vehicle burglaries.
Does it matter whether the police officer's suspicion turns
out to be false?
In order to support a stop of a vehicle under a
Fourth
Amendment
analysis, police do not have to prove that their suspicion was
accurate. Instead, police only have to demonstrate that the observed
facts could reasonably support their suspicion that criminal activity
was occurring or was about to occur.
In the example above, it is possible that the occupants of the white
Honda were engaging in lawful activities and that the individuals who
were breaking into vehicles were actually driving a white Toyota Camry.
The mere fact that the police officer's suspicion turned out to be
wrong does not necessarily invalidate any stop, search, or seizure. The
courts look at whether the officer's actions were reasonable at the
time of inception, even if the suspicion turned out to be wrong.
What limits are on the police officer after I am pulled over?
Any traffic stop made by police must be limited in both scope and time.
The limits that are placed on a police officer will initially depend on
the reason for which you were pulled over. But those limits may be
expanded depending on what other information or evidence the officer
discovers (and how it is discovered) following the initial stop.
When making a basic traffic stop, police are generally limited to
requesting driver and vehicle information. If all appears to be in
order, the police should promptly issue a citation and should generally
send the driver on his or her way. Unless an extension in scope is
justified on some other factual grounds, a police officer should not
ask investigative questions not directly related to the initial purpose
of the traffic stop, nor should the officer engage in conduct intended
to extend the duration of the stop.
If the officer has stopped a vehicle based on a reasonable suspicion
that the occupants of the vehicle are involved in other criminal
activity, the scope of the officer's conduct should be limited to what
is reasonably necessary to either confirm or dispel the suspicion.|
For example, if police had received a report that two tall, bald men
with facial tattoos were driving a white sedan and breaking into cars,
but when the police pulled over the white Honda they found two short
females with long hair, it would be hard to justify further detention
for investigatory purposes. On the other hand, if the white Honda was
occupied by two tall, bald men with facial tattoos, the officer would
likely be justified in asking these individuals a few questions to
determine whether they had been involved in the vehicle burglaries. If,
upon stopping the white Honda and finding suspects matching the two men
described by witnesses, the officer also observed in plain view in the
back seat items that matched the descriptions of the property
reportedly stolen in the other vehicle burglaries, the initial
investigatory stop could quickly turn into an arrest.
What happens if a police officer exceeds the limits on scope
or duration?
Evidence obtained by police in violation of the Fourth Amendment may be
subject to a
motion
to suppress. If such a motion is successful, a
court may order that any such evidence be suppressed or excluded at
trial. In some instances, suppression of evidence may result in a
complete dismissal of the criminal case. In other situations, a
prosecutor may still
have other evidence sufficient to support the
charges.
Finding a Criminal Defense
Attorney in Davis County

Whether
you are facing
misdemeanor
or
felony
charges, having an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side
can be critical. Serving clients in Davis County and throughout Utah,
criminal defense lawyer Stephen Howard has defended clients in
thousands of serious felony and misdemeanor cases in Utah. His
record of success includes
some of the most serious criminal charges on the books in Utah.
Contact us today to
see how we can help you.
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