Opinion ID: 702306
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Was The Traffic Stop Justified?

Text: 13 The United States Supreme Court has held that stopping a car and detaining its occupants is a seizure under the Fourth Amendment. See United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 226, 105 S.Ct. 675, 678, 83 L.Ed.2d 604 (1985); see also United States v. Velasquez, 885 F.2d 1076, 1081 (3d Cir.1989), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1017, 110 S.Ct. 1321, 108 L.Ed.2d 497 (1990). However, a stop to check a driver's license and registration is constitutional when it is based on an articulable and reasonable suspicion that ... either the vehicle or an occupant has violated the law. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 663, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 1401, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979); see Velasquez, 885 F.2d at 1081; see also 75 PA.CONS.STAT.ANN. Sec. 6308(b) (Supp.1995). 2 14 As a general rule, the burden of proof is on the defendant who seeks to suppress evidence. See United States v. Acosta, 965 F.2d 1248, 1256 n. 9 (3d Cir.1992) (citations omitted). However, once the defendant has established a basis for his motion, i.e., the search or seizure was conducted without a warrant, the burden shifts to the government to show that the search or seizure was reasonable. See United States v. McKneely, 6 F.3d 1447, 1453 (10th Cir.1993). 15 The trooper testified that he stopped Defendant's vehicle because, based on what he saw, he believed it was in violation of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code. See Appendix at A57. As we read the district court's memorandum decision, it accepted this testimony. See Mem.Op. at 12, 14. This finding of fact exceeds the showing required of the government to justify the traffic stop under Prouse, which requires only an articulable and reasonable suspicion that the car was in violation of Pennsylvania law. See, e.g., Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106, 109, 98 S.Ct. 330, 332, 54 L.Ed.2d 331 (1977); Velasquez, 885 F.2d at 1081. Because this finding is not clearly erroneous, we conclude that the district court correctly determined that the trooper's basis for the stop, standing alone, met Fourth Amendment requirements.