When Can a Police Officer Lawfully Initiate a Traffic Stop?

Under what circumstances is a traffic stop lawful? This is the question addressed in the case of State v. Richard E. Houghton, Jr..

In April of 2012, when a police officer observed Richard E. Houghton, Jr. driving without a front license plate and with an air freshener and GPS device visible in the front windshield, he was pulled over. After detecting the smell of marijuana, the officer conducted a search of Houghton’s vehicle. Approximately 240 grams of marijuana and paraphernalia commonly used for packaging and distributing marijuana were found.

Motion to Suppress Evidence

Houghton filed a motion to suppress the evidence, arguing that the traffic stop was not an investigatory stop, and that probable cause was required. He contended that not having a front license plate and having the items in the windshield did not violate Wisconsin law. And so, he argued, without probable cause for the stop, the search was unlawful.

The motion to suppress was denied by the circuit court. Houghton then pled guilty to one count of possession of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) with intent to deliver.

Houghton appealed the conviction, contending the circuit court wrongly denied his motion to suppress evidence because the officer lacked sufficient cause to stop his car. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals agreed and reversed the conviction.

Upon review, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that an officer’s “reasonable suspicion that a motorist is violating or has violated a traffic law is sufficient for the officer to initiate a stop of the offending vehicle”, and that the officer’s interpretation of Wisconsin Statute 346.88 regarding objects in the front windshield was objectively reasonable. The Court found that the circuit court was not in error in denying the motion to suppress and revered the Court of Appeals. 

Protect Your Fourth Amendment Right