Should I Resist an Illegal Traffic Stop?
If you have ever been pulled over by a police officer, you may have wondered whether you should resist a truly illegal traffic stop. An Oklahoma appeals court found that drivers must submit to even obviously bogus stops by the police.
In State v. Nelson, 2015 OK CR 10 (2015), the driver made a left-hand turn into a parking lot. The road was deserted and there were no cars in sight, except the police officer’s hidden patrol car. The officer pulled over the driver for failure to signal. He tried to write the driver a ticket, and the driver started walking away. The officer ordered the driver to stop and return to his car, but the driver said, “I can go wherever I want, and you can’t stop me.”
A brief struggle began between the driver and the officer, and another officer stepped in. Eventually the driver was arrested for obstructing and resisting an officer and failure to signal, among other charges. The driver filed a motion to quash illegal arrest and detention, which a magistrate judge heard. In court, the State argued that the driver had been pulled over because he failed to signal for the left-hand turn. The judge determined that the stop was illegal on the basis that there was no traffic on the road and the turn was made safely (as stated in court by the arresting officer).
The State appealed the judge’s ruling that the stop was illegal. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals heard the case. It found that the arresting officer had not made any mistakes of fact or law in stopping the driver. Rather, the prosecutor had erred by not introducing sufficient evidence in court to support the arrest’s legitimacy. The State had not introduced evidence that other cars were affected by the driver’s failure to signal.
Despite upholding the magistrate judge’s ruling about the illegality of the traffic stop, the Court of Criminal Appeals still found that the obstruction of an officer charge against the driver was legitimate. The Court’s opinion stated, “The typical motorist simply is not equipped to make a determination of whether there is a legal basis for a traffic stop. Whether the officer did, in hindsight, have probable cause to make the traffic stop should be resolved in a courtroom, not in the streets. To permit otherwise would effectively encourage drivers to engage in potentially explosive self-help methods. This, in turn, would increase the risk of escalating what should be a relatively benign interaction between law enforcement and a driver into a potentially dangerous or violent interaction.”
In short, citizens are not entitled to resist traffic stops that they believe are illegal. Instead, they should challenge the traffic stops in court. Resisting an illegal traffic stop could lead to legitimate obstruction and resisting arrest charges.
Arrested for DUI after an illegal traffic stop? Clint Patterson, Esq., of Patterson Law Firm, a former Tulsa prosecutor now using his trial experience and expert-level knowledge of DUI science to defend drivers, assesses his clients’ best options for defenses and sentencing. To schedule a case evaluation, visit Patterson Law Firm online or call Clint’s office at (918) 550-9175.