"From The Classroom" -  Raymond Hill 

Ray Hill is a retired Police Lieutenant and Professor Emeritus at Santa Rosa Junior College. He has taught in the POST Basic Academy and Advanced Officer Training for 45 years. 

A past San Bernardino County Sheriff case created some good precedent that may be helpful as you approach New Years and heightened DUI enforcement is the order of the day. Defendant’s vehicle approached an intersection controlled by a stop sign. She did not make a full stop until her front bumper and front wheels were past the marked limit line. A stop was initiated and defendant was found to be DUI. The 4DCA ruled the stop was lawful. A limit line is a “precisely specified position” and 22450(a) CVC mandates that a vehicle come to a full and complete stop before any portion of the vehicle crosses the limit line (Peo. v. Binkowski (2007) 68 Cal. Rptr. 3d 741).

"A traffic detention is based upon reasonable suspicion, a less demanding standard than probable cause” (Kansas v. Glover (2020) 140 S. Ct. 1183). Whether you make this stop and give a warning, issue a citation, find a DUI, or or make an observation that leads you to believe evidence or contraband is in the vehicle, this case gives you another “tool in the toolbox”.  

A full brief of Kansas v. Glover by Robert Phillips can viewed by clicking here. 

Stay Safe,

RH