Court Opinion

ID: 9710902
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:20:00.775379+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:00.980664
License: Public Domain

White, C. J.,
dissenting.
The issue in State v. Holmberg, 194 Neb. 337, 231 N. W. 2d 672, was whether a peace officer was authorized to stop any automobile for the purpose of ascertaining whether the operator possessed a valid operator’s license. We held section 60-435, R. R. S. 1943, authorized such a stop and rejected a conten*328tion that such a stop was unlawful unless the officer had some other reasonable cause for stopping the vehicle.
In this case the majority seems to hold that an officer who stops a motor vehicle and asks the operator to produce his license has made an illegal stop if the officer has any other motive or purpose in mind at the time. This argument was rejected in United States v. Turner, 442 F. 2d 1146 (8th Cir., 1971), where the court said: “Defendant was operating a 1964 Chevrolet Impala on August 13, 1970, in the City of St. Louis. The car had been reported missing the day before by its owner in the State of Indiana. A St. Louis police officer testified that he noticed the car being driven with the trunk lock punched out. He stopped the car as a matter of routine check and inquired if the defendant operator had a driver’s license. The defendant replied that he did not. He was then arrested under V.A.M.S. § 302.020, for operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license. After being informed of his rights, the defendant told the officer that the car belonged to a friend of his in Indianapolis. The police officer made a check to see if the car had been stolen. On the following day the police were notified that it was a stolen vehicle.
“The police officer clearly had probable cause to arrest the defendant for failure to have a proper driver’s license under Missouri law. It is argued, however, that the officer’s motive in stopping defendant’s car was not to check his driver’s license, « but merely to pursue his suspicion of some other crime. Thus, it is contended that the officer wanted to make an unwarranted search for evidence of some unidentified crime. We do not find it unreasonable for an officer to inquire as to a driver’s license under these circumstances. It is conceded under the state law of Missouri that an officer has a right to stop an automobile to make a routine check for an operator’s license. See Jackson v. United *329States, 408 F. 2d 1165, 1168 (8 Cir. 1969); Rodgers v. United States, 362 F. 2d 358, 362 (8 Cir. 1966). Cf. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U. S. 1, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889 (1968); Carpenter v. Sigler, 419 F. 2d 169 (8 Cir. 1969). Under these circumstances it is difficult to rationalize that this right of preliminary inquiry may be obviated because suspicious circumstances, even though they may be unfounded, might have motivated an officer to investigate.”
In State v. Holmberg, supra, we pointed out that after a driver, who has been stopped and asked to produce his license, has produced his license, he must be allowed to continue on his way if the license is in order. In this case the driver, Evans, could not produce a license. The officer was then justified in ascertaining whether a license had been issued to Evans. It was during this investigation that the officer noticed the odor of marijuana which in turn justified a further investigation.
Boslaugh, J., joins in this dissent.