Opinion ID: 2549040
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Inherent Dangerousness of Traffic Stops

Text: ¶ 23 In State v. James, we noted that there are inherent safety concerns in all traffic stops. 2000 UT 80, ¶ 10, 13 P.3d 576. We explained that officer safety is an inherent aspect of the governing caselaw, which we are not at liberty to disregard. Id. at ¶ 10 n. 3, 13 P.3d 576. The United States Supreme Court has also considered the dangerousness inherent in traffic stops, noting that officers face an inordinate risk when approaching a person seated in an automobile. Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032, 1048, 103 S.Ct. 3469, 77 L.Ed.2d 1201 (1983). In addition, the Tenth Circuit recently explained, [t]he terrifying truth is that officers face a very real risk of being assaulted with a dangerous weapon each time they stop a vehicle.... [C]ourts have been willing to give the officers `wide latitude' to discern the threat the motorist may pose to officer safety. United States v. Holt, 264 F.3d 1215, 1223 (10th Cir.2001) (citation omitted). ¶ 24 Due to this inherent dangerousness, courts allow officers to take certain precautions to protect themselves without having to justify their actions based on reasonable suspicion. The United States Supreme Court in Pennsylvania v. Mimms held that once a motor vehicle has been lawfully detained for a traffic violation, police officers may order the driver out of the vehicle to promote safety, even in the absence of reasonable suspicion, without violating the Fourth Amendment's proscription against unreasonable searches and seizures. 434 U.S. 106, 108-111, 98 S.Ct. 330, 54 L.Ed.2d 331 (1977). The Court later clarified that this same rationale also allows officers to order passengers out of the vehicle. Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408, 410, 117 S.Ct. 882, 137 L.Ed.2d 41 (1997). Officers can also run background checks pursuant to a traffic stop in order to increase officer safety. Holt, 264 F.3d at 1221. Officer safety is so important that all federal and most state courts allow these actions even in the absence of any specific safety concern. [4] ¶ 25 Although society's interest in promoting officer safety is great, that interest must be weighed against society's interest in protecting individual liberty. The reasonableness of a Terry frisk depends on a balance between the public interest and the individual's right to personal security free from arbitrary interference by law officers. United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 878, 95 S.Ct. 2574, 45 L.Ed.2d 607 (1975) (citation omitted). Balancing these interests, courts have held that slight intrusions such as ordering a person out of a car or conducting background checks pursuant to a traffic stop are justifiable intrusions in order to allow officers to operate in safety. See Mimms, 434 U.S. at 111, 98 S.Ct. 330; Wilson, 519 U.S. at 410, 117 S.Ct. 882; Holt, 264 F.3d at 1221. A Terry frisk is an intrusion of a greater magnitude. As the Court noted in Terry, a Terry frisk may inflict great indignity and arouse strong resentment, and it is not to be undertaken lightly. Terry, 392 U.S. at 17, 88 S.Ct. 1868. Hence, we expressly note that the State has not argued, and we do not hold, that the inherent dangerousness of traffic stops alone justifies a Terry frisk. However, we agree with the State that the inherent dangerousness of all traffic stops is a factor that should be considered under the totality of the circumstances analysis.