Opinion ID: 2165543
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Reasonable Suspicion Justifying Stop of Pike's Vehicle

Text: Pike argues that the trooper's stop of his vehicle violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure; therefore, he argues, all evidence obtained during and after the traffic stop should be suppressed. The state argues that Pike did not properly preserve this issue for appeal because he objected only to the overruling of his motion to suppress and not to the admission of the underlying evidence at trial. At trial, Pike again requested that his motion to suppress be granted and asked for and received a continuing objection to all evidence presented relating to events after the stop of Pike's vehicle. This objection was sufficient to preserve this issue for appeal. At a motion to suppress hearing, the State bears the burden of proving that the seizure was constitutionally proper. State v. Deck, 994 S.W.2d 527, 534 (Mo. banc 1999); State v. Burkhardt, 795 S.W.2d 399, 404 (Mo. banc 1990). When reviewing the trial court's overruling of a motion to suppress, this Court considers the evidence presented at both the suppression hearing and at trial to determine whether sufficient evidence exists in the record to support the trial court's ruling. Deck, 994 S.W.2d at 534; State v. Baskerville, 616 S.W.2d 839, 843 (Mo.1981). The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees citizens the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Missouri constitution offers the same level of protection; the same analysis applies to cases under the Missouri Constitution as under the United States Constitution. State v. Damask, 936 S.W.2d 565, 570 (Mo. banc 1996). Stopping Pike's car was a seizure for purposes of the Fourth Amendment. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979). As a general rule, warrantless seizures are unreasonable and, thus, unconstitutional. State v. Miller, 894 S.W.2d 649, 651 (Mo. banc 1995). An exception to this rule was recognized in Terry v. Ohio, where the Supreme Court held that a brief investigative stop may be conducted where an officer has a reasonable suspicion based on specific and articulable facts that illegal activity has occurred or is occurring. 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); see also State v. Deck, 994 S.W.2d 527, 534 (Mo. banc 1999). The existence of reasonable suspicion is determined objectively: would the facts available to the officer at the moment of the seizure or search `warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief that the action taken was appropriate?' Terry, 392 U.S. at 21-22, 88 S.Ct. 1868. The reasonableness of an officer's action is determined by balancing the interest to be served against the privacy interest affected by the seizure. Id. at 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868. Terry's reasonable suspicion standard applies to traffic stops. Deck, 994 S.W.2d at 534; Miller, 894 S.W.2d at 651. Reasonable suspicionand therefore a traffic stopmay be based on the officer's observation of a traffic violation. State v. Barks, 128 S.W.3d 513, 516 (Mo. banc 2004); State v. England, 92 S.W.3d 335, 339 (Mo.App.2002). A traffic violation, however, is not required to create reasonable suspicion to justify a stop; justification may be based on erratic or unusual operation. See Deck, 994 S.W.2d at 535; State v. Bunts, 867 S.W.2d 277, 280 (Mo.App.1993). Reasonable suspicion is a less stringent standard than probable cause. Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325, 330, 110 S.Ct. 2412, 110 L.Ed.2d 301 (1990). Reasonable suspicion may be established with information that is different in amount or content, or that is less reliable, than the evidence required to establish probable cause. Id. The quantity and quality of the information must be considered in the totality of the circumstances to determine whether reasonable suspicion exists. Id. Considered in the light most favorable to the state, the evidence presented at the suppression hearing and at trial supported the trooper's reasonable suspicion that unlawful activity had occurred. Pike was one of relatively few drivers on the road at 2:20 in the morning. The trooper observed Pike following another vehicle at a distance of approximately one car length or so, which the trooper testified was not an adequate distance when considering the speed of the vehicles. The trooper observed Pike's vehicle travel over the fog line dividing the travel lane from the shoulder on two occasions. Even though this did not constitute erratic driving in the trooper's opinion, there was no evidence of any obstruction or other circumstance that would necessitate driving on the shoulder and no evidence that either of the other two vehicles went onto the shoulder. These facts, considered in light of the trooper's experience as a highway patrol officer, provided a reasonable suspicion that a traffic violation had occurred and justified the stop of Pike's vehicle. In fact, the trial court found that the evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that traffic violations had been committed. When considering the facts and inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the trial court's judgment, it is clear that the trooper could point to specific factsthe distance between the vehicles and the transgressions over the fog linethat provided a reasonable suspicion that Pike had committed at least one traffic violation. The stop was constitutionally permissible.