Opinion ID: 596577
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The vehicle stop and the subsequent frisk and automobile search

Text: 16 Spencer next argues that the police had no cause to stop the vehicle in which he was a passenger, unlawfully seized him by forcing him to remain while the officer took his identification card back to the police car for a computer check, and improperly subjected him to a stop and frisk. We review de novo the district court's ruling on a motion to suppress evidence on these grounds. People of the Territory of Guam v. Ichiyasu, 838 F.2d 353, 355 (9th Cir.1988). None of Spencer's objections to the stop or to the subsequent warrant check and frisk are meritorious. 17 There is no doubt that a broken headlight gives an officer cause to stop a motorist. See Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 661, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 1400, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979); United States v. Baker, 850 F.2d 1365, 1368 (9th Cir.1988). The detention while running a warrant check also was reasonable. To be justified, such a detention must be supported by a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity. United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-418, 101 S.Ct. 690, 695, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981). A valid stop can include the momentary restriction on a person's freedom of movement in order to maintain the status quo while making an initial inquiry. United States v. Patterson, 648 F.2d 625, 633 (9th Cir.1981). 18 These criteria were met in this case. The driver had no operator's license and Spencer presented a jail identification when the officer asked him to identify himself. These facts could reasonably lead a police officer to suspect that the car did not belong to the driver and that the occupants might have been involved in criminal activities. See United States v. Fouche, 776 F.2d 1398, 1403 (9th Cir.1985) (inferences or deductions apparent to trained law enforcement officers may be considered under the totality of the circumstances). The police were also justified in believing that a firearm might be in the vehicle after they discovered the shoulder holster underneath Spencer's jacket and Officer Lozier observed Spencer's concealing movements in the automobile's front seat after Officer Collins stopped the vehicle. Thus, the warrantless search of the stopped car was supported by probable cause. See, e.g., Baker, 850 F.2d at 1369 (police could search auto after finding ammunition on the defendant's person). C. The district judge's comment to the jury 19 The prosecutor objected that Spencer's lawyer was outside the evidence during his closing argument. The district judge responded that he did not recall the evidence to which defense counsel had referred. Defense counsel did not object to the court's statement; hence, we review it only for plain error. United States v. Sanchez-Lopez, 879 F.2d 541, 551 (9th Cir.1989). Plain error exists only in exceptional circumstances when a substantial right of a defendant is affected. Id. (citing United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 163 n. 14, 102 S.Ct. 1584, 1592 n. 14, 71 L.Ed.2d 816 (1982)). 20 Judicial comments on the evidence are permissible. Sanchez-Lopez, 879 F.2d at 553 (citing Quercia v. United States, 289 U.S. 466, 469, 53 S.Ct. 698, 699, 77 L.Ed. 1321 (1933)). Here, the district judge's comments were entirely neutral. He simply stated that he did not recall the testimony about Miller's gun referred to by Spencer's counsel. Such a statement does not support a finding of plain error. In any event, the district judge also instructed the jury to decide the case based on the evidence as each of them remembered it. This instruction, which indicated to the jurors that they are the sole judges of the facts, negated any adverse impact the mild comment may have had. See Sanchez-Lopez, 879 F.2d at 553.