QUESTION
Can the police pull you over without a traffic violation?
Asked on Jan 07th, 2015 on Criminal Law - Utah
More details to this question:
One of my sons has a warrant out for his arrest (illegal possession of a controlled substance). A few months ago, he got pulled over in his younger brother's truck, ran and got away. The police then started pulling over my younger son for the most minor violations (snow on his license plate, crossing into the turning lane before the broken line), so he started driving very very carefully. They pulled him over again today stating there is a "warrant" on his truck and ran his driver's license. I know they're still looking for my son with the warrant, but is it legal for them to pull someone over if no traffic violation has been committed?
2 ANSWERS
Unfortunately the police do have the ability to pull over the truck even if there isn't a violation because they already have probable cause because the vehicle had already been involved in a crime. So the have the right to pull over to see if there is anything illegal inside the vehicle or to see if the person they are looking for inside the vehicle again. That being said they still have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the son that owns the vehicle is actually involved in criminal activity, otherwise they just have to release him.
Answered on Jan 08th, 2015 at 8:38 PM
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They have to have some kind of reasonable suspicion that your son is violating the law, or the stop is illegal. My best guess is that they suspect your other son is still in the area, but I think they still need some kind of reasonable suspicion for the stop to be valid.
Answered on Jan 07th, 2015 at 5:21 PM