Probable cause for pulling me over??????????

coragryph

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.

Jack

Yes, a third party complaint warrants investigation.

vicki p

you betcha

Troy

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.

markymarvin

Yes

five0runnr_2000

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.

sparhawk7322

Yes it is. I

Sue F

Yes, it is enough for probable cause. You should be more selective in your choice of boyfriends, he sounds like he is not the most responcible of individuals.

You should take this incident as a big warning, you will be known to the police now as someone who associates with a wanted felon.

Good luck.

Police don't need probable cause to pull a motorist over.

As it turns out, they made a good choice, didn't they? Caught a loser!

One for our side.

robot_hooker

Yep. The prison guard felt it was suspicious behavior, as did the responding officer.

And you need to find a boyfriend who doesn't have a criminal record.

Chuck-the-Duck

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!

One Sexy Jeep Girl

Yes. Also it could be the guard recognized your boyfriend.

The Law

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.

Peanutbutterjelly

Yup, and in this case, he was right on the money

Grampa

Yes, and your boyfriend got what he deserved.

SGT. D

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.

dougie

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.

c-co

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

trevcda

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.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: