Opinion ID: 39526
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Events Before the Warrant Check Came Back Clean

Text: As soon as Lopez-Moreno pulled over, Officer Parker requested his driver’s license. Officer Parker then explained that he had pulled over the van because of problems with the brake lights. Officer Parker next proceeded to ask Lopez-Moreno various questions about the nature of his trip. Officer Parker first asked Lopez-Moreno about his destination. Lopez-Moreno told him that he was going to Atlanta. Officer Parker next asked him who he worked for, to which Lopez-Moreno responded that he worked for the company named on the door of the van. Officer Parker then started questioning Lopez-Moreno about the passengers, including how many there were, who they were, and where they were from. Lopez-Moreno was not certain how many passengers there were and did not know their names, but he told Officer Parker that they were from various places. With these questions asked, Officer Parker began questioning Lopez-Moreno about the immigration status of his passengers. - 3 - When asked by Officer Parker if they were present legally in the United States, Lopez-Moreno told him “I guess, I don’t know,” and “I just work for the company.” At that point, Officer Parker again asked Lopez-Moreno where he was taking the passengers. Lopez-Moreno told Officer Parker that he was taking the passengers to various destinations. Parker then asked if they were being taken to work. Lopez-Moreno said that they were going to work at their destinations. Based on these responses, Parker stated to Lopez-Moreno, “Some of them probably ain’t legal.” Although not readily discernible on the videotape, Officer Parker has testified that Lopez-Moreno responded by saying either “might” or “might be.” At 2:40 a.m., Officer Parker went back to his police cruiser to request a backup officer. He also called in Lopez-Moreno’s driver’s license number to run a check on his license and to see if he had any outstanding warrants. He then went back and continued to question Lopez-Moreno about the details of his trip. While this next round of questioning was proceeding, the dispatcher radioed back to Parker at 2:43 a.m. to tell him that the driver’s license was valid and that she was still checking to see if Lopez-Moreno had any outstanding warrants. After the dispatcher radioed back, Officer Parker asked Lopez-Moreno about the immigration status of the passengers for either the third or fourth time. Officer Parker stated: “None of them are legal. Be honest with me.” This time, rather than - 4 - offer a verbal response, Lopez-Moreno shrugged. In response to the shrug, Parker stated “probably not.” Lopez-Moreno then volunteered to go back to the van and retrieve the passenger manifest. At 2:44 a.m., while Lopez-Moreno was going back to the van, the dispatcher called back and told Parker that there were no outstanding warrants. Parker told the dispatcher to hold onto Lopez-Moreno’s information.