Supreme Court: Is Anonymous Tip Enough for Traffic Stop?

Posted 10 months ago

By Scott Carlson

(AP) — The Supreme Court says it will weigh whether a motorist’s anonymous tip about reckless driving is enough for police to pull over a car, without an officer’s corroboration of dangerous driving.

The justices said Tuesday they will take up an appeal by two men who pleaded to guilty to transporting marijuana after California Highway Patrol officers pulled over their silver Ford 150 pickup based on a report of reckless driving.

The officers did not observe erratic driving, but acted after dispatchers received a 911 call saying the vehicle had run the caller off the road and identifying it by its model, color and license plate. Officers searched the truck after smelling marijuana, found four large bags of it and arrested driver Lorenzo Prado Navarette and passenger Jose Prado Navarette.

Val

No, it’s not. But it sure would be a great way to pester, bully and annoy the hell out of someone.

Current score: 1
Law Abiding Citizen

Agreed, it is not. That would be like finding a serial killer guilty with no other evidence other than a witness who “saw the crime”. An example from personal experience, a big flatscreen tv was taken from a trailer in the trailer park and neighbors said that a red/white pickup with a flatbed drove away with the tv – however I know for a fact that even though I was over at said house several times I NEVER drove away with the tv. But the nosy neighbors had seen my truck at the residence before so assumed that I had something to do with it and gave my trucks description to police. People have “agendas” and no ones memory is a quarter as good as hard evidence. Unless they seen him driving erratically, its a “he said she said” game which doesnt give cops the right to pull over whoever they want whenever they. That is unless they\re SS German Police or working under Hitler.

Current score: 0