Know Your Rights During A Traffic Stop
You are responsible for knowing your rights and legal obligations.
Law enforcement has no duty to make sure you know your rights or the law. Don't be fooled by what you see in the movies.
During a traffic stop:
You have the following legal obligations:
If an officer orders you to stop, you must stop.
You must provide your driver's license and proof of insurance upon an officer's request.
You must wait for the officer's permission to leave.
You have the following constitutional rights:
Under the Fourth Amendment, you have the right to refuse to consent to a warrantless search of your body, your personal belongings, and your vehicle, with one limited exception for officer safety: an officer may legally pat-down your body over your clothes, and search the area within your immediate reach, for weapons only, if she has reason to believe you may be armed and dangerous.
Under the Fifth Amendment, you have the right to refuse to answer questions that may incriminate you.
Under the Sixth Amendment, if the police take you into custody and detain you, you have the right to have an attorney present with you during questioning.
Here is what I would do to protect my privacy and constitutional rights during a routine traffic stop. This is not legal advice. When it comes to my legal rights, I don't rely on the internet, and neither should you. Every individual, every officer, and every situation is unique. Different states have different laws. Always consult a lawyer if you have questions about your legal rights or obligations.
Pull over and turn on the emergency/hazard lights. Turn off any music. Make sure all car windows are closed, and then open the driver's side window enough so that you can speak with the officer, and hand her your documents if she asks to see them.
Turn off the car, and remove the keys from the ignition. Place the keys in your lap or on the center of the dashboard. (You may need them to close your driver's side window if the officer asks you to step out of the car.) If you smoke, extinguish your cigarette.
If there are passengers in the car, tell them to remain calm and silent. Everyone in the car has the same constitutional rights you do.
If you have time to retrieve your driver's license and proof of insurance before the officer approaches the car, do so. If not, wait until the officer asks to see it. (When retrieving documents, move slowly, and keep your hands in plain view.)
Before the officer arrives at the window, set your hands at 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock on top of the steering wheel. Remember: everything will be recorded on video by the squad car's video camera, and possibly recorded by an audio and/or video recorder on the officer's person.
Be polite, respectful, and calm at all times, no matter what.
Greet the officer and ask her "Why did you pull me over, officer?"
Officers can't legally pull you over without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. They must have some reason to suspect a violation of the law. Once you've been stopped, officers have the right to investigate what they stopped you for. However, officers can't expand their investigation without additional information to justify that expansion.
Do not offer information; there's no need for small talk. You do not have to answer a question just because an officer asks. Officers are trained to ask questions that will elicit additional information. You have no legal obligation to answer questions if doing so may incriminate you.
Here are some common questions designed to get you to waive your 5th Amendment rights, with potential responses that protect and preserve your rights:
Driver X: |Hello officer. Why did you pull me over?|
Officer: |Why do you think I pulled you over?|
X: |Why did you pull me over?|
O: |Do you know how fast you were going?|
X: |How fast was I going?|
O: |Do you know what the speed limit is here?|
X: |What is the speed limit here?|
O: |Where are you coming from?|
X: |Why did you pull me over?| or |Are you detaining me, officer?|
O: |Where are you headed?|
X: |Why did you pull me over?| or |Are you detaining me, officer?|
O: |Have you been drinking?|
X: |Why did you pull me over?| or |Are you detaining me, officer?|
If the officer persists in asking questions, ask |Am I free to leave, officer?|
If the officer says no, or keeps asking questions, you have been seized and you are being detained. You have the constitutional right to tell the officer |I invoke my 5th Amendment rights, and I refuse to answer any further questions without my attorney present." You must tell the officer that you are asserting your 5th Amendment rights; just remaining silent, without verbally asserting your rights, is not enough.
If the officer asks you to step out of the car, move slowly and keep your hands in plain view of the officer. Close your window, open your door, step out, close your door and lock the car.
If the officer asks to search anythingâ??your mouth, your car, your luggage, your pocketsâ??you have the constitutional right to refuse to consent to any searches.
If the officer places you under arrest, the officer has the right to conduct a |search-incident-to-arrest.| This search takes place during the arrest (at the same time and place where the officer says |I am placing you under arrest|). The officer may legally pat-search a person's body for weapons and any evidence of the offense of arrest that the person could destroy if the officer did not confiscate it.
If officers continue to ask you questions, assert your 5th Amendment right to remain silent, and contact an attorney as soon as possible. Remember, everything is being recorded.
EXCEPTION IN MINNESOTA: ONCE AN OFFICER ARRESTS YOU UNDER SUSPICION OF DRIVING WHILE IMPAIRED, IF YOU ASSERT YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, YOU WILL BE CHARGED WITH A CRIME.
IN MINNESOTA, IT IS A CRIME FOR ARRESTED DWI SUSPECTS:
- TO REFUSE A WARRANTLESS SEARCH OF THEIR BODY FOR BLOOD AND URINE;
- TO REFUSE A BREATH TEST;
- TO ASSERT THE FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT; and
- TO ASSERT THE SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO THE PRESENCE OF AN ATTORNEY DURING QUESTIONING.
If you are concerned that your state provides different levels of constitutional protection depending on the alleged offense, contact an attorney.