Imagine you are driving down the road, all of the sudden you notice those blue lights in your rearview mirror. Slight panic sets in even though you haven’t done anything wrong. We have all been there. What you do and say next can have a significant impact on any legal proceedings that could follow. Your choices are critical regardless if the stop ends in a minor traffic violation or an arrest for a more serious crime.
Reasonable Suspicion
It is important to know that a law enforcement officer only needs reasonable suspicion to pull you over and conduct an investigatory stop. A minor traffic infraction is enough to give an officer the ability to pull you over and conduct an investigation.
Initial Contact
After making the stop, an officer will approach either the driver or passenger side of the vehicle. In this situation most have a tendency to roll the window down all the way, but it is important to note that you are not obligated to do so. You only need to roll the window down far enough to produce your license, registration, and proof of insurance to the officer.
It is important to note that you are required to follow a lawful order of a law enforcement officer. It is important to be mindful that legally you are not required to roll a window all the way down or to open the door of your vehicle unless the officer has a legitimate legal basis for his/her request.
The officer will question the driver and/or passenger regarding the facts surrounding the traffic stop. Sometimes the officer will even ask the driver to step back to the police vehicle for additional questions – this is lawful and the driver must accompany the officer to the squad car.
Short and Direct Answers
When answering the questions being asked make sure your answers are short and directly related to what is being asked, no extra information is needed. You are not required to answer any questions asked by the officer that are not directly related to the traffic stop. When asked questions not pertaining to the traffic stop, merely saying nothing and staying silent is within your constitutional rights.
During the investigation if the officer develops reasonable suspicion of other criminal activity (example: drugs, driving under the influence, etc.) the officer has the ability to then ask questions about the newly suspected criminal activity. If you have answered all questions directly without providing any unrelated information, there should be no reason or bases for the officer to suspect any other illegal activity.
Search of the Vehicle
Officers will typically ask to for permission to search your vehicle. You always have the right to decline permission to search your vehicle. If the officers believes he has the right to search your vehicle, then your vehicle will be searched regardless of whether or not you provided consent to the search so there is really no good reason to provide consent.
If you or someone you know has been stopped for a traffic violation and/or an arrest has occurred then it is important to hire an attorney that will protect your rights. Fill out the form below or call Cotter Law today to schedule your FREE consultation at (865) 888-7155 to speak with an experienced attorney.