? for CA officers

[NorthCAL22]

I have a technical question or rather am asking for the opinion from CA officers. When initiating a traffic stop and the driver does not have their driver's license it is permissible to search him and the passenger compartment of the vehicle for identification. Now if you look at the situation of a bicyclist who is pulled over for a VC violation, how many officers believe it is permissible to search the bicyclists and items that he might have in his possession for identification?

[corporal716]

You do not need a drivers license to ride a bike.
Driving a car in California without a license is a misdemeanor.

[Toeknee112]

I've never searched someone for their ID. If they've committed a crime and can't/won't produce identification then they go to jail.

[NorthCAL22]

I know that you do not need a drivers license to ride a bike. and that it is a misd. to operate a vehicle without a license, 12500(a)CVC. However, 40302CVC states that a person can be arrested for failure to produce proper identification when stopped for a vehicle code violation. Courts have ruled that because of this you may search an automobile for identification because that search is less intrusive than arresting someone and taking them to jail. Now in the case of a bicycle there is a vehicle code (I cannot remember it off the top of my head). The code stated that bicyclists must follow the same rules of the road as vehicles. So I was trying to get the opinion of other officers to think if this section 40302CVC applies to bicyclists as well. I hope that what I am writing makes sense.

[acreature]

There is case law for this. You can frisk a vehicle for DL or ID. I'll have to find it.

[SeVere]

I would say this. If you stop a bicycle rider for a traffic violation, and they do not have a driver's license to post as bond for the infraction. They may be taken to the station to post bond. Because they are taken into custody, they may be searched. They would then have to post bond at the station for the traffic violation.

Any contraband found would be seized and prosecuted for.

I would let the lawyers argue about it in court.

[JD45]

There is case law for this. You can frisk a vehicle for DL or ID. I'll have to find it.

Yep and to elaborate a bit, it gives you the ability to search any area that could contain ID. That means almost anything goes...:D

[JD45]

From WOAD,

21200. (a) Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division, including, but not limited to, provisions concerning driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs, and by Division 10 (commencing with Section 20000), Section 27400, Division 16.7 (commencing with Section 39000), Division 17 (commencing with Section 40000.1), and Division 18 (commencing with Section 42000), except those provisions which by their very nature can have no application.

blah blah blah... so..CVC 40302 applies=)

(He was asking for the CVC on it, and I happened to be reading about it recently... thought Id mention it if you wanted to post it.)

[lindat2957]

When a you are riding a bike on the roadway, the vehicle code applies...the vehicle code gives us permission to detain, at the station, for a period of time for which we can establish identity....therefore if we have a right to take you to the station we have a right to check the bike for your identity, I am assuming you are talking about containers onthe bike....it is technically not an arrest, under the vehicle code section, but merely a detainment...now if we find that someone has lied about their identity then of course it gets stepped up....but short answer be it bike or vehicle...if you are on a roadway the vehicle code applies....

[NorthCAL22]

Yeah. My impression has always been that you can search a bicyclist if they do not have identification although I rarely do it. I just have not been able to find any case law allowing an identification search on a bicyclist.

[NorthCAL22]

I forget one thing I wanted to mention to lindat2957. Technically,the vehicle code sectoin does give us permission to arrest not just take a subject to the station and establish their identity (detainment). If someone is being a real jerk, you can just book them on the 40302CVC charge and charge them for the infraction you pulled them over for.

[lindat2957]

northcal..I am not aware of that being the case....this is not ment in a chalenging manner, so at the end of it you know or have access to something that I am not aware of I would appreciate the info so I can pass it on...but under 40302a, when a person fails to provide satisfactory evidence of identity we can bring them in "for examination"....the case law that we were provided allows 4 hours for us to establish the identity then he/she must be sent on way...the other three, refusal to sign, demanding to see a magistrate, or dui, are a ticket to jail....but if identity has been established then the 40302 is now done......unfortunately at this particular moment I can not get my hands on the specific case law...but would be happy to do research on the topic, if you would like....now as I said if you do have something to the contrary please let me know...so I can pass it on to the others around here also....thnx Linda

[lindat2957]

Ok hot off the press....and I stand corrected....what you are looking for is Monroe (1993) 12Cal.App.4th 1174, " the court held that you have the duty to ask if the violator has a driver's license or it's functional equivalent, that is some identification with a photo,description,signature, address,etc. ......if the violtaor fails to produce this type of reliable ID, you have no duty to pursue the matter further, or to ask questions in an effort to determine the reliability of the violator's oral identification...."

the courts cited the example of being able to take a passenger into the station for violation of an open alcohol container....which in this case allowed the officer's the custodial search, which produced contraband...in a second ruling the section was added Monroe (1993) 12 Cal.App.4th 1174,1182-1189....referring specifically to 40302a...the do confirm that it is an "arrest" , simply put anyone who is cited is technically arrested and released on their written promise to appear,,,the decision to cite/arrest must be made prior to using 40302a..."if the arrested person is taken into custody pursuant vehicle code section 40302a, invoolving the operation of a motor vehicle, the jailer may detain the person, not to exceed two hours, to verify identity. During this detention a booking search is permissable (benz (1984) 156 Cal.App.3d 483"

the long and short of it...yes technically it is an arrest, just can't exceed two hours...the case law refers to a passenger, and this department has taken it to cover both peds and bicyclists...we have not lost any in court.....(for those of you wondering, yes I do have entirely too much time on my hands )

[Switchback]

Something I came across online:

40302. Whenever any person is arrested for any violation of this code, not
declared to be a felony, the arrested person shall be taken without
unnecessary delay before a magistrate within the county in which the offense
charged is alleged to have been committed and who has jurisdiction of the
offense and is nearest or most accessible with reference to the place where
the arrest is made in any of the following cases:

(a) When the person arrested fails to present his driver's license or other
satisfactory evidence of his identity for examination.

(b) When the person arrested refuses to give his written promise to appear
in court.

(c) When the person arrested demands an immediate appearance before a
magistrate.

(d) When the person arrested is charged with violating Section 23152. (DUI)

CDL search. If the driver gets out without his or her license, registration
or proof of insurance, you can enter the vehicle to search for these items,
in places where they are normally kept (glove box, console, map pouch,
visor, steering column, and under the front seat). Any contraband or
evidence in plain view may be seized. Re: ArturoD and People v. Hinger
(2002) 27th Cal. 4th 60 79-81.

Infraction arrest. You can lawfully arrest a person for Vehicle Code
misdemeanors and infractions, and search incident to arrest. Atwaterv. City
of Lago Vista (2001) 532 US 318; People v. McKay (2002) 27 Cal. 4th 601;
People v. Gomez (2004) 117 Cal. App. 4th 531

Because of 21200 all of this applies to someone on a bike.