Is this an illegal stop leading to a DUI?

Question

On November 14 I was arrested or Minor driving under the influence with a BAC of .03. The officer claimed at the time of arrest and in the police report that he pulled me over for an expired registration.

But here's the catch...my registration was not expired at all. I'm not sure how it works in other states, but in California you have a sticker for the month the registration expires (in this case Nov.), and a sticker for a year (in this case 2006). My registration was paid for and renewed on Nov. 10 (the sticker for the next year had not yet arrived), and I had the November sticker for 2006 on the car, which means there was no reason to believe my registration was expired.

Every person I've talked to (friends, parents, the freaking Oakland Police Chief) believes this was an illegal stop. What are my chances of getting this thing thrown out all together??

Answer 1

The law considers the pulling over of a vehicle to be a "seizure" of a person which must be supported by probable cause. If not, the seizure is invalid and any evidence subsequently derived is inadmissible in a criminal proceeding against you. Because the stated "cause" was an expired registration and your registration was in fact not expired then there was no probable cause for your "seizure." Likewise, you could not be said to have "consented" to the blood alcohol test because you were illegally seized. Therefore, the results of the test are inadmissible. When in court say: "I request the charges against me be dismissed as the evidence sought to be brought against me was illegally seized pursuant to an illegal traffic stop in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constution.*(still a big deal) The police officer stated in his report that he pulled me over for an expired registration, however as you can see (show papers) my registration was in fact not expired on the day of the stop." Smile, be respectful and this will absolutely be thrown out. BTW, you may also have grounds for a civil suit for false arrest personally against the police officer (not necessarily the police department but that is where the money is). He committed a tort by falsly imprisoning you and causing you injury. Sue him personally as sue the department as respondent superior (the employer).

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

You got pulled over the same month that your tags expired. The cop doesn't necessarily know weather "November" means "November 1" or "November 31". Most people wait until the very last minute to renew their registration, and the Calif. DMV is so abhorrently slow that the cop is going to say "I was going by what the computer said".

No judge is going to grind the entire proceeding to a halt at the mere mention of "well, he pulled me over for expired tags". He's going to take it into consideration and move on to the actual crime you are charged with.

I seriously hope you don't naively walk into a courtroom and expect this little loophole to get you off of a DUI - a very serious (and profitable) charge in that state.

Judges are a little calloused when it comes to this, because they hear all day "Yeah, I committed a felony, but when the cops arrested me, they used unreasonable force!".

A jury of your peers is just as likely to convict you, since nobody likes a drunk driver, regardless of HOW you got pulled over.

Yeah, you go sue the cops for that, like brainiac a few posts up suggested. And when you lose, expect to pay some nice healthy lawyer fees and lose any future grace of California's Finest.

Answer 4

In Georgia the sticker you are referring to expires on the registered owners birthday. If the birthday is November 1, then the sticker will still show November. The officer can run the information and it will show that the tag is expired. We can stop the driver just for an expired tag. Also, just because the tag was paid does not mean that the information made it into the system before you were stopped.

Answer 5

This is not going to get thrown out. The bottom line is that you are a minor and you were caught drinking & driving. The reason the officer pulled you over has nothing to do with your case. He could of simply said you were weaving in the lane, acting suspicially, or forgot to signal a turn, ect. There are a ton of reasons to pull someone over. Had you been sober, this would have never become an issue. Facts are facts. My advice to you is to take whatever offer the DA is willing to give you & learn a vaualable lesson. Good Luck to you.

Answer 6

If the police cars in that area have the mobile NCIC or CCIC computers, he/she probably ran your tag and as the database updates can be slow, it might have shown your registration as not having been renewed yet. Here in Florida, we used to have till the end of the birth month to renew. Now, it is the day of your birth.

So, it might stand, based on the officer possibly not being aware you had renewed it. I renewed via the internet and printed the receipt to carry with me just in case I didn't get the sticker by my birthday.

Answer 7

No probable cause for the stop means the arrest is not valid.

If I were you, I would get an attorney. It is likely that he or she will make a motion to suppress based on the inaccurate probable cause for arrest.

Answer 8

Get a real lawyer, not a public defender. I had a public defender once. It was like taking a cocker spaniel to court and it wasn't even my dog. I highly recommend a jury trial. Judges are in the business of screwing people. Regular people are more likely to listen to reason.

Answer 9

Your chances arn't very good, only because the police here in California will go to any lengths to cover their own people. In other words even if they are in the wrong they arn't.

Answer 10

it definitely sounds like an illegal stop. get all the records you can, and maybe a statement from the oakland police chief if you can, and fight it in court....thats the best advice i can give. definitely do all you can to fight it tho!