Anonymous Tip Can Get You Pulled Over And Questioned

[Matt Collins]

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/20/anonymous-tips-enough-stop-drivers-court-rules/?breakingnews


The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that anonymous tips that alert authorities to reckless driving are sufficient to warrant detention and questioning of drivers.

“The anonymous tip reporting reckless driving indicated a sufficiently high risk of imminent injury or death to members of the public to warrant immediate intervention by law enforcement officials,” wrote state Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee in the court’s opinion, released today.


The ruling arose out of the 2003 arrest of Jerry Lee Hanning, who was driving an 18-wheeler northbound on Interstate 75 in Louden County and later was found to be intoxicated when approached by police in a McDonald’s parking lot.


Police became aware of Mr. Hanning’s reckless driving through an anonymous caller who described Mr. Hanning’s vehicle and told police where it had exited the interstate.


Mr. Hanning entered a conditional plea of guilty to DUI, but asserted that authorities had violated his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. Mr. Hanning argued to the state Supreme Court that the police officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop him because the officer had not personally seen him driving recklessly.


The state Supreme Court’s opinion upheld the decisions of the Court of Criminal Appeals and the Criminal Court of Louden County to deny Mr. Hanning’s motion to suppress the evidence seized during his arrest.

[Reason]

not sure how I feel about this.

I have called in drunk drivers before.

If a cop stopped me saying that my car was reported as being reckless I would ignore it and do the standard am I being detained or am I free to go since he can't charge me with anything based off an anonymous tip and even if he did it would not hold up in court since there would be no proof.

[devil21]

Calling in drunk drivers isn't the issue here.

The issue is that the police didn't actually witness the behavior the tipster called about. Therefore, the cop didn't have reasonable suspicion to "detain" the truck driver for drunk driving. IOW, the cop never witnessed the behavior that the person is arrested for. Public intoxication would be the charge instead since that's all the cop witnessed. Calling in drunk and/or reckless drivers is another issue entirely.

This is disturbing but I won't worry about it until it's the Feds ruling. State law I'm familiar with specifically requires the cop to "witness" (and attest to to witnessing before a magistrate) the behavior on the highway that led to the arrest. If a cop can't attest to witnessing then there's no case. This is probably just a technical issue based on the wording of the state law in TN.

[moostraks]

I had this happen in Georgia about 2 years ago. I used to drive an older station wagon with the rear seats that face each other. It was hand painted by an artist up in Chicago with waves and a sacred heart and the uber conservative area I lived in did not exactly appreciate my car or my 7 children who I would take in it. I had one lady scream at me (in traffic) that she was going to call the police because me children were in the seats in the rear ( that were manufactured into the car) and they felt it was a hazard. Another time I was pulled over by an officer because someone said I was drunk driving (same car) because I passed them doing 40 in a 55 zone and they were going to get me rear ended. (Atlanta drivers are ruthless in more ways than one) Needless to say I was pretty hostile when they pulled me over and told me why. The officer was pretty surprised when he found a very sober and coherant driver. People profile based upon the car and I haven't driven that car since I moved up North. It is another way to screw with those you don't like,imo.

[phill4paul]

No tips should be "Anonymous." Everyone should have the right to face their accusers and sue them for slander, libel and defamation of character.

[Danke]

I watch. Iwatch!

[angelatc]

It will be interesting to see if it gets appealed, as SCOTUS already refused to hear 2 cases in states that had ruled that a single anonymous tip was not enough to pull someone over.

http://volokh.com/2009/10/20/chief-justice-roberts-dissents-from-denial-of-fourth-amendment-case-again/

[fisharmor]

I had one lady scream at me (in traffic) that she was going to call the police because me children were in the seats in the rear ( that were manufactured into the car) and they felt it was a hazard.

My dad told me that he knew he made the right decision in 1977 when he bought his first full-size van, when all four kids (oldest 1968, youngest 1976) were playing ring-around-the-rosie in the back as we went down the highway.

Funny thing is, nobody seems to be able to point to the mountain of dead babies you'd think they'd need to show to prove that we need these stupid laws.

One dead baby in a car accident is a tragedy. 300 million people who need college degrees and gainful employment to be able to sit in a car without special equipment is a bigger tragedy.

Of course, overturning carseat laws is pretty low on the list of priorities, but it's a pet peeve of mine... doesn't ANYONE realize that nosybody do-gooding of any sort at all just ends up creating a special caste of our betters who are able to do whatever they want to us, and are completely justified in killing us if we resist?

[moostraks]

My dad told me that he knew he made the right decision in 1977 when he bought his first full-size van, when all four kids (oldest 1968, youngest 1976) were playing ring-around-the-rosie in the back as we went down the highway.

Funny thing is, nobody seems to be able to point to the mountain of dead babies you'd think they'd need to show to prove that we need these stupid laws.

One dead baby in a car accident is a tragedy. 300 million people who need college degrees and gainful employment to be able to sit in a car without special equipment is a bigger tragedy.

Of course, overturning carseat laws is pretty low on the list of priorities, but it's a pet peeve of mine... doesn't ANYONE realize that nosybody do-gooding of any sort at all just ends up creating a special caste of our betters who are able to do whatever they want to us, and are completely justified in killing us if we resist?

:D I told the woman she needed to take it up with Ford as they were the ones who made the car...To boot the ones who needed safety seats had them. I could picture the officer getting that call...