Pretext Stops

[jaunt10]

I know a few years ago in Texas the registration and inspection stickers i believe were put on the rear license plates. Me and my dad used the license plate covers to detract anyone from stealing the stickers (which was quite a problem so TX started putting the stickers on the windshield). It helped a bit but sometimes they would take the whole license plate. So yeah there is a reason for the plate covers and there are those that turn dark at a certain angle to stop the street light cameras from capturing your plate number. Who knows if those work though.

[P01IC3M4N]

i used code enforcement to get a VIN on a car i thought was stolen. a car in a driveway without proper registration is a city code violation. once i got the VIN, i confirmed my suspicions. i was going to stop it for a bad dealer tag.

i make pretext stops all the time. you start watching drug houses, you should know what cars come and go and when you see them, you should stop them.

[vadep]

To answer the original question:

1. Yes

2. EVERY stop I make is pre-textural. I am not in our traffic division, so I must be a slave to the radio as well as try to be pro-active... I don't get any great thrill out of writing grandma for 12 over, so I personally try to make every stop count. If it ends up I've stopped grandpa, then he gets a warning & I'm off to the next one.

3. Of course. The whole premise of pretext is using a VALID infraction to investigate the possibility of further criminal activity. I can't see any argument about fairness here.

4. Yes. The speed limit is 35, not 37. Assuming you're measuring this speed with an accurate, calibrated device it's perfectly legal. Obviously it's flimsy as hell, and I try for something more, but if it's all you got so be it.

[CXT_180]

Originally posted by txinvestigator1
DC,


...I ask because where I worked the County Attorney's office did not want us to write tickets for traffic violations we observed to establish PC for a DWI arrest. Their reason to us was if the tickets were found not guilty, then the PC for the DWI went down the drain.

I would think so, "fruit of the poisionous tree", you know.
ie if the stop/reason for it was bad, then nothing that came from it is any good.

[txinvestigator1]

Originally posted by CXT_180
I would think so, "fruit of the poisionous tree", you know.
ie if the stop/reason for it was bad, then nothing that came from it is any good.

Our traffic and County courts were in seperate locations, different jurisdictions. I don't know if, in fact, this was true, but thats what our prosecutors wanted.

[P01IC3M4N]

Originally posted by CXT_180
I would think so, "fruit of the poisionous tree", you know.
ie if the stop/reason for it was bad, then nothing that came from it is any good.

that still doesn't diminish your probable cause because the person was found not guilty. if we get someone on a felony from a traffic stop, we normally don't mess with the ticket anyway. our DAs prefer that you not cite because it brings up a defense, but that's about it. you still had PC to make a stop.

[Lfpdlieu302]

Originally posted by Edge
Unless it's based on age, race, and appearance. That is unconstitutional, but impossible to prove of course.

there is a differnce between a pretext stop and a profiling stop. pretext has pc for the stop its just used because you think there is another crime is being committed or has been committed (basically). a profile stop is made soley because of the persons age race or appearance.