VEHICLE STOPS

An officer may question someone after a traffic stop is finished, but they are free to leave if they wish to. If consent to search is gained after a traffic stop is finished, any evidence found is admissible in court due to the subject volunteering to stay behind and be searched.

If an officer makes a mistake in law, but believed their mistake to be correct at the time, then their reasonable suspicion will remain.

Several 911 calls described a vehicle being involved in a shots fired incident. This gave reasonable suspicion for officers to stop Burgess.

Police can stop a vehicle based on anonymous tips that the vehicle was driving recklessly. A vehicle description and plate number should be given in the tip to strengthen the reasonable suspicion.

An officer can order a passenger back into the vehicle if they try to leave/get out. The safety of the officer outweighs the minimal intrusion into the passenger's liberty.

If there is PC to search a car, then officers may search all areas capable of concealing the object of the search, including passengers' belongings.

It is reasonable for an officer to remove the passenger and have them stand by away from the vehicle during a K-9 sniff of the vehicle. This is done for officer safety, and to minimise distractions to the K-9.

Pennsylvania V. Mimms applies to passengers also for the same reasons.

An officer conducting a traffic stop must allow the driver to carry on with their day after a citation is given without further delay unless:

1. during the traffic stop, the officer gains reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed

2. the driver voluntarily consents to additional questions

The smell of illegal narcotics and the finding of contraband on the defendant's person was probable cause to search the passenger area and trunk.

A vehicle can be stopped based on reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred, not just a traffic offense.

The driver can be ordered out of a vehicle, without suspicion, on routine traffic stops. The officer's safety greatly outweighs the inconvenience to the driver. 

A vehicle impounded for parking violations can be unlocked, entered, and inventoried by the police as part of their "caretaking" function without violating the Fourth Amendment. Any drugs or other evidence or contraband can be lawfully seized. 

The US Supreme Court reaffirmed the Chambers case. If an officer has probable cause to search a vehicle after stopping it, the officer can move the vehicle to the station to conduct the search.

A suspect does not need to be in his vehicle at the time of arrest in order for the vehicle to be searched incident to arrest. The suspect merely has to have the vehicle in his possession at the scene of the arrest. The entire passenger area can be searched. 

Police may conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle stopped on traffic if there is probable cause to believe that the vehicle contains contraband or evidence. The search without a warrant is justified based on the exigent circumstance that a vehicle stopped on traffic could be quickly moved out of the city or jurisdiction of the investigating agency.