U.S. SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR ISSUE ON WHETHER A DRIVER CAN BE PULLED OVER BASED ON ANOTHER DRIVER REPORTING RECKLESS DRIVING WITHOUT THE POLICE HAVING SEEN ANY BAD DRIVING OR ANYTHING ILLEGAL

The Supreme Court has will hear argument on a California state case but one presenting an important Fourth Amendment issue. The case is Lorenzo Navarette, et al. v. State of California, No. 12-9490, and the question presented is 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. … IN STATE COURT HERE IN FLORIDA I HAVE ALWAYS SUCCESSFULLY ARGUED FOR SUPPRESSION OF EVIDENCE AND DISMISSAL OF THE CASE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHERE THE POLICE STOP MY CLIENTS VEHICLE BASED ON ANOTHER DRIVER REPORTING THEIR BAD DRIVING. THE LAW HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT WITHOUT CORROBORATION SUCH AS THE POLICE OFFICER WITNESSING THE BAD DRIVING THEMSELVES, THE STOP IS INVALID. As reported by the AP: The Navarette case represents an appeal by two men who pleaded 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. Officer searched the truck after smelling marijuana, found four large bags of it and arrested driver Lorenzo Prado Navarette and passenger Jose Prado Navarette. They appealed after pleading guilty and are arguing that the traffic stop violated their constitutional rights, based on an earlier high court ruling that anonymous tips by themselves ordinarily are not sufficient for police to detain or search someone.