Jonathan v. Nally

¶ 1. In State v. Sprague, 2003 VT 20, ¶ 1, 175 Vt. 123, 824 A.2d 539, we held as a matter of state constitutional law that law enforcement officers must have a reasonable basis to believe that their safety or the safety of others is at risk, or that a crime has been committed, before ordering the driver to exit a lawfully stopped vehicle. We further held that the officer in that case lacked a reasonable *224basis for the exit order; that the defendant had not voluntarily consented to leave his vehicle; and that the illegal seizure tainted the defendant’s later purported consent to a search of his…