probable cause for pulling me over??????????

Question

I just went to a local convenice store with my boyfriend where he purchased some alcohol. Apparently there was a prison guard in a truck near me and thought it was kind of odd that i pulled around to the side so he called the cops ( i found this out just after from a friend who works at the store) anyways a little while down the road I got pulled over. Chris is 21 and was carded, the alchol wasnt for me but im not 21 yet so i almost got arrested for transportation. Anyways i didnt because Chris said i didnt realise what he bought....but he was arrested for a warrent he already had out. I didnt give them any reason to pull me over....is just the prison guard calling enough probable cause to pull me over alone?

Answer 1

Police don't need probable cause to stop you in car. Just reasonable suspicion, which is a slightly lower standard.

And that could arguably be claimed (at least after the fact) by seeing a young driver pulling away from a liquor store.

Pretext stops are legal, even if a bit sleezy.

Answer 2

The law in most stays allows traffic stops to occur with mere reasonable suspicion. Therefore, the probable cause test does not apply. Some states allow police officers to stop motorist just to see if they have a valid drivers license. However, search of vehicles still have the same requirements for warrantless searches, unless the driver gives permission. The alcohol was in plain view of the officers after the approached the vehicle and this matched the report received from the Prison Guard or correctional officer. So, they had probable cause to investigate the possibilty that a minor was in receipt of alcohol. The law assumes that what is in the vehicle is under control of the driver. So, it may be a good idea to choose who you spend time with. These situations can get bad fast. Had he commited a crime in the store, came out and got in your vehicle, you would be viewed as an accessory to the crime. So, be careful.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, without knowing the "complete" story and by the way you describe the encounter, Yes, Your situation falls under the "Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. at 21 as quoted from Camara v. Municiple Court, 387 U.S. 523, 534 (1967): ("the permissibility of a particular Law Enforcement practice is judged by balancing it's intrusion on the individual's Fourth Amendment interests against it's promotion of lagitimate governmental interests"). I quote this directly from my Law Journal (Georgetown Law Journals Annotated Review of Criminal Procedure 38 (2005) A further quote from this Law Journal States; Page 38: " Under Terry v. Ohio, while a warrantless seizure not based on probable cause is generally invalid, an investigatory detention, defined as a brief seizure by police officers, is lawful if based on reasonable suspicion. The Court emphasized the importance of balancing "the need to search (or seize) against the invasion which the search (or seizure) entails" to determine whether a search or seizure is lawful. Under this balancing approach, important government interest can justify a brief investigatory detention based on less than probable cause."
So based upon the "Guards" report, the officer definetly had "reasonable suspicion" to pull you over in an "Investigatory Detention" because your actions were consistant with the actions of one caseing or preparing to rob the establishment. I hope this helps.
GOD BLESS/GOOD LUCK!!

P/S: Sorry about your boyfriend!

Answer 4

An excellent question: I am not a lawyer but have successfully pleaded in front of many Courts: You can easily get "free" legal consultations over the phone, in just about any local.
However good a question, "the horse is already out of the barn": It doesn't seem like either of you were charged with anything and your friend was taken in on an active warrant. Having arrested him does not reflect on his outstanding chargeand now thay have him...they won't let him go.
If he were on parole or probation.."probable cause" would not determine a ligitimate "violation " either.....
They can do just about anything to effect enforcement of a "felony warrant"..................
If either of you were charged with a "crime" you may have some standing to dismiss acharge.
Shopping at a conveniene store would seem to be a rahter innocuouse act and mi lions of peple do it without criminal activity !!!!!!!!!!
Hey, by the way,don't ever fall for that " Oh, so long long as I am here, can I look into your trunk, pockets, house, garage, etc......".Make them obtain a search warrant.
It is our right and duty.

Answer 5

Probable cause is SO subjective that almost anything may be construed as probable cause; touching a lane edge, one mile over the speed limit, suspicious behavior, matching a description, etc. Once the stop has been initiated they can discover other things to pin on you. But to make the initial stop there has to be a legitimate reason. You can't just be randomly pulled over, although Home Land Security may have changed that as well. "Chris" should have taken care of his warrant as well; that may not have gone as well for you as it did.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, cop or anything like that. In fact, don't listen to me, I don't really know what I'm talking about!Just speaking from a little experience and a lot of common sense.

Answer 6

Yes it is, and in a case such as this,it's not probable cause that an Officer needs to pull you over, it's "Reasonable Suspicion", one step below "Probable Cause" according to the Supreme Court. The prison guard calling and reporting you is more than enough for a traffic stop.

Answer 7

once upon a time (true story for real actually) : someone dove from an airplane to find the parachute would not open ... falling maybe 10,000 feet and breaking nearly every bone: she recovered enough to return to work ... having fallen into an anthill which served as an airbag and having been filled up with ant venom seems to have saved her life ... and an unofficial and unpublished title has since floated about: ' the-so-you-broke-every-bone-in-your-body - BIG DEAL - book for soldiers ' ... despite the fact that children age five and under die each day at rates far more great than do soldiers, soldiers like to think of their careers as important and dangerous ... i think if they find their jobs so dangerous, they should invest more time in putting the dead back together, and less time encouraging the 'dangerous' wars that they claim 'end so many countless innocent lives' ... while something like 15,000 or 20,000 kids age five and under die each day by hunger alone, not too many soldiers starve to death each day, especially the soldiers of the one country in the world with more money and more lunch than nearly all the nations in the world summed together

Answer 8

certain it would want to were the low octane gas, yet you further an octane booster, so it would probable be high-quality now. And catalytic converters do no longer might want to get replaced till the porcelain lattice starts off to crack and damage. in the journey that they get clogged with soot, all you may want to do is open the front connection and burn the carbon decrease back with a torch. Then that's going to be high-quality for yet another 100,000. yet as well examine the hoses, PCV, purge valve, and different conceivable air leaks.

Answer 9

Yes, he had probable cause to pull you over. An officer has probable cause when he deems something suspicious or out of the ordinary. You pulling up to the side raised a flag and he, in turn, acted upon it.

Answer 10

Depends, They can find any reason to pull you over, regardless is the Guard called in or not. Driving left of center, Taillight out, suspicious activity.