Supreme Court Ruling

["Al Powell" <APOWELL@agcom.tamu.edu>]

Mr. Anton <anton_gaidos_iii@firepower.com> said:

> The Supreme Court has ruled that from now on an officer can ask that all
> passengers get out of a vehicle without reason or probable cause for any
> traffic related stop. The justices stopped short of Attorney General
> Janet Reno's request to detain driver and passengers without specific
> charges being brought against them for an unspecified amount of time.
> Thankfully!

Having reviewed some of the comments about this, I respectfully must 
agree with both rulings.  Having spent seven years as a reserve 
deputy, I can attest to the fact that traffic stops are the one of 
the two most dangerous situations a police officer is EVER in.  (The 
other is responding to domestic dispute calls.)

Until you have had the responsibility of stopping a car in a secluded 
area, (perhaps 30 minutes from help) knowing nothing about the 
occupants, and being to some degree at THEIR mercy, I (respectfully) 
suggest that those opposed to this ruling may have very little direct 
knowledge from which to judge.

When a cop stops me at night, he will find my motor stopped; my 
interior lights ON so he can see me clearly; and my hands ON the 
steering wheel, in plain view.  This, to me, is nothing less than 
common courtesy to him, reducing his anxiety about the stop.  And the 
less anxiety HE feels, the more likely he is to treat me well.  
Period.  Maybe some cops lie or set people up, but they are VERY 
rare.  Most want nothing more than to do their job and get on with 
their day.

I would frankly be flabbergasted if any police officer felt 
differently about these rulings.  The only caveat is that asking 
passenges to leave a vehicle is VERY much a judgement call, as they 
then become more mobile, and may outnumber the cop.  Both are 
potentially VERY bad news...and a copy would be careful about putting 
him/herself in that position.

I also might point out that it's legal for a cop to stop anyone, at 
any time, given any reason that in his or her judgement is 
sufficient, and ask them to identify themselves.  Whether you 
agree with this judgement is not material.  They may have 
reports about prowlers, they may be looking for someone of a 
similar description...there are many potential reasons.  Asking us
to exit a vehicle for a few minutes in order to help this, and other 
legally associated processes, seems reasonable to me.  And they're 
not going anywhere, anyway, until the traffic stop is over.

OTOH, I fully agree that the request to detain the driver and 
passengers, essentially indefinitely, without charges, would be 
totally unwarranted.  There is a clear difference in my mind.

>  Two justices voted against this action stating it is an intrusion on a
> passenger's liberty and right to privacy. These two justices are of
> course correct but that hasn't stopped this latest wave of
> constitutional infringement by the Reagan/Bush/Clinton administrations.

Totally disagree for reasons stated above.

>  This latest ruling is to better protect the officer from 
> passengers with concealed weapons. 

and FULLY justified as such, IMO.

> Come on! This is nonsense. An officer has better
> odds of being injured by his/her own spouse in a domestic dispute then
> in a traffic stop. This is a fact. (MY opinion - I think Reno is a
> jack-booted-thug and the justices have failed to uphold the
> constitution.)

You're entitled to your opinion of Reno - but your opinion on the 
degree of injury risk is very much in error, also as pointed out 
above.  I have been in some VERY interesting late-night traffic stop 
exercises which make it very clear that if a driver or passenger is 
willing to risk taking a bullet, there are about 8 out of 10 chances 
that you're gonna have a dead cop.

The risk is there.  BTDT.

 

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Al Powell, Ph.D.                 Voice:  409/845-2807
107 Reed McDonald Bldg.          Fax:    409/862-1202
College Station, TX 77843      
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