KYSC - Blake - Traffic Stop

Commonwealthv. Blake, 2016-SC-346-DG, to be published

The Court reversed the Court of Appeals’ decision suppressing the evidence seized from the defendant’s car.  Two officers worked in conjunction to determine whether the defendant engaged in drug trafficking. The first officer sent a confidential informant to the same location on two occasions. Both times, the defendant pulled up in her car and spoke with a third party. The third party went in to a home. The confidential informant returned with drugs. The man at the home served as an intermediary between the defendant and the confidential information. The first officer did not want the defendant to connect his informant to the transactions, so he asked a second officer to stop the defendant’s vehicle. The second officer made the stop, claiming the defendant had failed to illuminate her license plate. This alleged traffic violation could not withstand scrutiny. 

The Court of Appeals ruled the drug evidence seized from the car must be suppressed. The Kentucky Supreme Court reversed holding the first officer’s suspicion of the defendant trafficking in drugs was shared/”transferred” to the second officer. This suspicion justified the traffic stop and the seizing of the drug evidence.

Contributed by Euva Blandford

KYSC - Traft - Traffic Stop

Traftv. Commonwealth, 2015-SC-470, to be published

The police have reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop of a vehicle based solely on a license plate reader alert. In this case, the alert informed the officer that Traft had a pending warrant for failure to appear in court. No reasonable expectation of privacy in a license plate.

Contributed by Euva Blandford

KYCOA - Lane - Traffic Stop

Lane, Damion Montrece, 2015-CA-001698, Reversing/remanding. 11/4/2016. To be published.

Damion Lane plead guilty in a conditional plea to first-degree possession of a controlled substance, first offense, tampering with physical evidence and disregarding a stop sign.  He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, probated.  He appealed the denial of his motion to suppress evidence discovered after a traffic stop.

  

The Court of Appeals held that even though the officer that pulled over Lane had a K-9 unit in his cruiser, the fact that the stop was extended so as to conduct a sniff was violative as the officers had no reasonable articulable suspicion of drug-related activity. 

Analyzing the stop under the standard set out in Commonwealth v. Bucalo, 422 S.W.3d 253 (Ky. 2013), the Court found that the sniff was in no way related to the purpose for which he was stopped, having run a stop sign; did extend the traffic stop, even if for a few seconds; and that there was no reasonable articulable suspicion of drug-related activity to justify the sniff, stated factors of being in a “high-crime neighborhood” and Lane’s fumbling movements while waiting for the officer’s approach and the officer’s “hunch” something was afoot were not sufficient to create suspicion. 

Trial counsel was James Chamberlain, DPA-Hopkinsville. Linda Roberts Horsman of the Appeals Branch represented Mr. Lane on appeal.